


Pipster Prompt-a-Thon II

by therune



Series: Pipster Prompt-a-Thon [2]
Category: DCU - Comicverse
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-04-15
Updated: 2012-04-16
Packaged: 2017-11-03 17:28:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 75
Words: 34,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/384027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/therune/pseuds/therune
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>These are the fills I wrote for the piper_trickster promptathon ii.<br/>    (It's a bit like a kinkmeme, except not anonymously, for one fandom and where everyone who posted a fic requests one in turn...which can turn into comment chains with over 100 responses and over 5000 comments in total)</p><p> I will add specific characters, warnings etc to the individual chapters.</p><p>    There will be lots of humor, mostly gen stuff, slash, het, lots of alcohol, and supervillains breaking stuff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Return

James had some sort of magnetism. He seemed to draw people in, to attract attention, to absorb the spotlight.  
It was like he thrived on it. Like he lived of attention, like he needed the admiration to survive. Heads turned when he walked into a room. His smile lit up the sky, like even the sun couldn´t stay away.  
And as every action has a reaction, he gave something back.  
He radiated warmth, he gave light and laughter, offered solace and his presence made everything somehow better.

 

When Piper was feeling down or lonely, when he longed for some kind of friendship he couldn´t have with Wally, when he wanted companionship he couldn´t have with his boyfriend James, when there was something wrong, James could make it better. By talking, by playing cards, by making sickenly sweet tea, by sitting on a couch in horribly striped shirts, by making jokes and by simply smiling.

Piper was drawn in every time. And he found that he didn´t mind.


	2. Mickey Mousing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Piper, James and cartoons

Piper watched James watch a cartoon.  
Well, one of those modern-CGI animated things.  
"I always thought you were more for the classics," he admitted.  
"I am, but that doesn´t mean I´m not checking out new stuff. This one here, for example, uses one of the coolest methods of cartoons ever, mickey-mousing. No words are spoken, every movement is accompanied by sounds, just like in Bugs Bunny. See?"  
Piper watched for a few seconds.  
Then James wrapped his arms around him and leaned his head against Piper´s chest. Piper sighed happily and kissed the top of James´ head.  
"Piper?" James asked, and now Piper knew he was in trouble. It was the special-voice, the one that James only used when he really, really wanted something and would not stop before he got it.  
"Yes, darling?"  
"Oh, my maestro, I could use your help one this one project I´ve been working on..."

At the next bank robbery, every step of James was accompanied by a sound, music playing in the background. Piper could swear that even the wriggling of James´ eyebrows was in synch with the sound effects he know he did not manufacture himself.


	3. Of biblical proportions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Weapons

In stories and legends, there were always the great heroes. And when they had to fight, had to ride into battle, they carried with them courage, valor, honor, fire in their hearts and grand weapons.

King Arthur brandished Excalibur and held it high in the air, as the sun transformed the sword into a gleaming beacon of hope.  
Robin Hood drew another arrow from his quiver. "For Freedom!"  
The Dragonslayer drew the legendary Balmung from its sheath.

Those weapons were swords, they were shields, spears, bows and arrows - weapons made to fight, to protect.

Then, there were unlikely weapons.

David slayed Goliath with a slingshot.  
Samson used the jawbone of an ass to slaughter thousands.

And among the stars, surrounded by death, hatred and despair, one piper held a tiny flute in his hands.  
And this weapon, was the most powerful of them all.


	4. Sexy Pillowfight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> exactly what it says

Pillow fights were for teenage girls who hopped around in nightgowns, laughingly swung light pillows at their friends and giggled when a feather escaped the pillowcase.

Pillow fights were nothing for grown men.  
Pilow fights were meant to be playful little, silly gestures.  
Pillow fights weren´t sexy.  
Except that this one was.

Piper watched James bounce on the bed, lazily swinging a blue pillow. His shirt rode up, showing Piper a sliver of his belly. He smiled wide, hair tousled, eyes twinkling with mischief. His face was flushed. He was wearing only the shirt and a pair of boxers. He was beautiful.

James grinned as he swung his pillow at Piper. It hit his chest and erupted in an explosion of feathers. It should have been silly, but when Piper looked at James, saw the joy and the love, it was not silly at all.  
He dropped his pillow and leapt towards James, sent them both tumbling down on the bed. They bounced and laughed.  
Stray feathers descended upon them, tickling.  
"You´re sexy," Piper said.  
"No, you´re sexy," James replied.  
A feather landed on his nose and his eyes crossed as he tried to look at it.  
Piper laughed and plucked the feather from his nose.  
Stupid sexy James.


	5. Dancing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rogues and Dancing

"It´s just a jump to the-"  
"JJ! Stop that infernal seizures! That is not dancing, this is a disgrace to art!"  
"Shut up, Roy, it´s fun! Put your hands to your hips-"  
"Do you have to sing along?"  
JJ shot him a glare that said "Was that a challenge?" and became even more enthusiastic and louder in his dancing and singing.  
"Didn´t you claim last week that the only dance for you was the macarena?" Len asked, amusedly watching the scenario.  
"Oh please, I´m so over that! Let´s do the Time Warp now!"


	6. Responsibility

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James hates being responsible

Sometimes, James thinks that he was better off as a supervillain. Scratch that, he very often thinks that.  
When he was a supervillain, there was just fun without regrets, jokes without consequences and laughter at everything and everyone.

Then, all hell broke loose. Now he has to be careful. He has to think about all of his actions, he has to estimate how they will impact of his life and afterlife. He censors his speech, doesn´t curse, doesn´t speak his mind. He is polite and smiles. It´s so hard. He reads books on religion and philosophy, he tries to find a way to keep himself upfloat. He reads the bible and goes to church.

He´s honest now, and more fake than he has ever been.

He walks through the streets, trying to think nothing, do nothing, do nothing wrong.  
He witnesses someone snatching a purse.  
It´s not his fault.  
It´s not his responsibility.  
He hunts the criminal down, gets the purse back and returns it.  
He wouldn´t have done that before.  
But it´s the right thing to do.  
This isn´t too bad.

Mark calls from the station, just as they´re about to transfer him to Iron Heights.  
"Please, that´s no place for thieves. That´s no place for anyone. James, please". He hangs up. Using his FBI connections to help a criminal - wrong thing. He doesn´t do it.  
He hates himself.

Len lands himself in the hospital. It would be easy to command the officer guarding the hopsital room to go away for a while, to sneak in in disguise, to help... but it´s wrong, isn´t it?  
It´s not his fault, not his responsibility.

 

He looks up to the sky and feels caged. No more running, no more hiding, no more flying.  
He hates his life. He hates himself.


	7. Expect the Unexpected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Axel and gaming consoles

It wasn´t his fault, really. Just a quick smash´n´grab, stuffing the loot in the bag and running like hell.

He had gotten the new controller for his xbox (he needed that one, had thrown the old one out of the window when he had died playing Halo), had gotten an extra set of controllers just in case anyone wanted to play with him (they never did, but it was fine aynway, because they were stupid old geezers who probably grew up with pong or some shit and wouldn´t know what to do anyway. He´d tell them if they asked, but so far he played alone. He was really good at that, so he didn´t see why that should upset him.) and had gotten the newest games.  
He got that Assassin´s Creed, which was totally cool because of all the jumping and climbing, but mostly for stabbing people in the neck, then that shooter with the cartoonish figures which name he had forgotten anyway, then that zombie shooter game which rocked, because when was sooting zombies ever not cool? And then he had blindly grabbed for more stuff.  
He ended up with a copy of World of Warcraft which was for nerds anyway, some game with trains, he never got those, trains were boring in real life, why play with virtual ones, then a flight simulator which he didn´t need because duh - he could fly on his own and because he hasn´t figured out the controls and then some Tekken, Mortal Kombat which totally rules, Grand Theft Auto - he already has it, but a spare never hurt, especially when he´s mad and wants to throw stuff at people, and then some weirdass Japanese game. It´s an import so he can´t read the blurbs on the package or the manual, but he never reads manuals anyway so who cares?

He starts playing, shoots zombies, shoots aliens, runs over people with a tank, then backs up and does it again, fights against the computer until he´s bored. Len comes to his room but he doesn´t want to play as Sub Zero, he wants Axel to turn the volume down because it´s like 6 am, but Axel doesn´t care.  
He hasn´t slept for 33 hours when he tries that weirdass Japanese game. He thinks this is what tripping feels like, because whoa - what is going on here? He gets really confused and then falls asleep, dreaming of avalanches made of people and junk.

When he wants to play again and rummages through his pile of discs for the other shooter game, Mark comes in with a big grin on his face.  
"Is there really a game character called Sub-Zero?"  
"Sure."  
Axel pops in Mortal Kombat instead, plugs in the other controllers for the first time and smiles.  
Mark totally kicks his ass, but that´s cool.  
It´s just beginner´s luck anyway, and Mark has promised him a rematch.


	8. Inkstar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Have you read Inkheart? It's kinda like that, only with James

There is something magical about story telling. It´s how words form life, form love and feelings, how characters become alive, how a story takes you away to different world, when you see wonders you never dreamed of, when you are having adventures, when you laugh with the heroes, when you cry with them and when you feel that special little spark that every good story has.

James has always been a good storyteller - he´s good with lies, with little deceptions, twists and turns of the truth, and he´s charming, persuasive and very charismatic. People want to believe him when he tells them that he´s a representative of Tee, Rickston and Fuldya Insurance. When he strolls into a bank claiming to be Johnson from accounting, people see his winning smile, shake his hand and lead him into the backroom, and would he like some coffee while he´s waiting?  
He just is that good.

All his life James thought that he didn´t have any superpowers, that he was an ordinary - if extremely intelligent - guy who invents gadgets and cons the living hell out of anybody.  
But the truth is, he is more than that.  
His belief makes stories come true. He believes that he can build flying shoes despite having had no formal education. He believes that he is smart. He believes that he is the best damn conman in thw world. He believes that he isn´t afraid of falling anymore.  
And so he becomes what he believes.

When he was young, James loved to read books about Jesse James, imagening what it would be like to meet him, to be him. He has never read aloud.  
Until one day, he does.  
He picks up a book of fairy tales and reads Cinderella to a sleeping Digger, hoping to influence his REM phase. It´s just an experiment but it would be so cool if it actually worked.  
As James reads, the words form a melody, they are in perfect harmony as he describes the scene where Cinderella flees from the ball before it becomes midnight. She loses her glass slipper and then something changes and an object falls into his lap.  
It is a slipper made of glass - it has no seams, no marks of crafting and James knows it´s impossible to make a shoe like that out of glass, it can´t be. But the shoes is there.  
He picks it up, marvels at its fragility and beauty and is awed.  
He looks at the book, then at the shoe and then he grins.  
Time to put his theory to a test.

1001 nights, Treasure Island and a Scrooge McDuck comic later, he´s certain.  
He can read things out of books.  
The Rogues find him in a throne room that wasn´t there yesterday, surrounded by treasure chests and a pool of gold.  
He doesn´t realize it right now, but the Trickster is the most powerful being of the universe.  
He tricked reality. He tricked fantasy.  
And he´s just getting started.


	9. Enemies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dan Cassidy, aka Blue Devil, does not have a good day. James doesn't necessarily makes it better.

Dan wasn´t having a very good day.  
The studio wanted to attract a new target audience so they had written a new script for the upcoming episodes.  
The Blue Devil was a huge success with males of all ages, but the female audience was limited to small children and senior citizens. The teenagers and women were sorely missed.  
So, the Blue Devil was supposed to have a new enemy to fight, and to keep in touch with christian lore, it was going to be an angel, and an evil one at that.  
And then the actress had broken her leg.  
It´s was just actor´s superstition, no one really breaks a leg if you say "break a leg". But she did anyway and now they were in trouble, the costume was there, the script written, the equipment already there and half of the episode had already been shot.  
Dan stormed into the break room, desperate for coffee. Could his day get any worse?  
As he opened the door he discovered that yes, it could do that.

His eyes were greeted with clashing bright fabric, a smile that meant trouble and a pink box.  
"Dan, my man! I heard about your shooting today and wanted to surprise you! I got donuts!"  
James Jesse, part time special effects advisor guy, part time supervillain, the world´s worst dresser (and proud of it), an obnoxious, arrogant prankster and usually up to no good.  
He offered Dan a donut. It looked tasty and delicious and harmless, but Dan knew better than to accept food from the Trickster.  
"Man, you look awful. And also like you´re having a bad day. Filming not going so well?"  
Dan made a beeline for the coffee pot.  
"Horrible. The new actress broke her leg, we can´t get a replacement and ...what have you done to the coffee?"  
"Nothing! The coffee´s fine....alright, it´s the creamer you have to look out for, turns your tongue green. Maybe I should check out the set, you know, to offer my services."  
"Trickster, for once the special effects are doing just fine. It´s everything else that´s going down the drain....that´s not stopping you, is it?"  
"No," James informed him cheerfully and bit into a donut.

Dan returned to the set, the staff not looking very happy. No good news then. The director came up to him. "It´s no use, we have to delay the angel scenes, the agency can probably send us a new girl by tomorrow, of course she won´t know any lines and we didn´t cast her and it´s going to be a disaster, but at least we can finish your solo scenes and the scenes with the rest of the cast today."  
James came to the set, carrying the box.  
"Hello everyone, I brought donuts!"  
After a shake of Dan´s head, the security guard stepped down and took the hand off his baton, a reflex to see Jesse on the set.  
The director´s eyes became so wide that his glasses fell off.  
"Oh lord in heaven, be praised! He rushed over to James and crushed him into an embrace before planting kisses on his cheeks.  
"It´s you! You are a godsend! You will be my angel!"  
James´ grin froze and had a rather stupid look on his face. "What?"  
"Come wth me at once! Make-up, where´s make-up? The costume, we need the costume! Where´s the girl with the wings? Perfect!"  
He grabbed James´ hand and dragged him forcefully out of the room.  
Dan contemplated if dyeing his tongue green would get him sick leave today.

The initial laughter died down after about 5 minutes. To his credit, James only looked ambarrassed for the first two, then he joined in.  
The costume had been re-tailored rather quickly but there hadn´t been too much fabric to begin with anyway.  
Dan personally thought that James looked ridiculous, but then, James aimed to dres like that. But usually we wore more clothes - he had gone to the beach in a victorian striped bathing suit for christ´s sake. He wasn´t one for nudity and bare skin, but the director apparently was.  
James wore fake silver lashes, a blonde wig and wore a dress that would have been barely tasteful on the 5´5´´ lady who was supposed to wear it.  
"You are cupid, you are the love angel, you are fantastic!" the director exclaimed. His vision of an evil angel included bare legs and arms, iridiscent wings and shoes that made even the women on the staff wince in sympathy.  
It looked ridiculous on a 6 feet tall man.

The episode was shot and it was a huge success with the female test viewer group. However, it was scrapped as the producers thought the angel to be skimpy and feared retribution from christian groups, republicans and concerned parents.

But James kept the costume, just in case. It had been fun to prance around in a costume, pretending to be the nemesis to a superhero.  
He missed the Rogues and wondered what they were doing right now.

Linda had ties to the studio in LA and when she had heard rumors about the lost episode "Attack of the Angel", she called a friend who called in a favor and sent her the tape. Naturally, she watched it with Wally who almost choked on his popcorn while laughing.  
Then she showed it to Piper who had fallen off the couch laughing and who had borrowed the tape. He dropped in on the Rogues´ movie night and had inserted the video into the VCR with an impish little smile.  
Digger had snorted out beer through his nose, which was disgusting but hilarious at the same time. Len laughed so hard it actually hurt and Mark kept demanding they should wind back to the scene when the "angel" assaulted the Devil with a tiny golden wand.  
They would tease James for months after is return.


	10. Shut up!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James rants about how he loves Piper

"And your hair, you always bitch when the sun comes out, how you get freckles and how you get sunburn, then you sulk a lot and get sunscreen everywhere, even on my towel.  
And your goatee, that´s just ridiculous. It´s not even a twirly moustache or a proper villain beard, it´s just that hair that ran away from your mouth and hides.  
The glasses, really? You´re lucky I haven´t broken out the Elton John jokes yet.  
Your clothes - everything has to be green, doesn´t it? Or have polka dots, honestly, what were you thinking? You were looking ridiculous! And it´s not like you dress better out of costume, it gets worse everytime I see you. You have horrible fashion sense.  
And you´re a commie bastard, really, a drama queen. Everything has to be your own way, you always need to rebel against something, always up agaisnt the man and the establishment.  
And you were the one born with the silver spoons, you´re rich and you threw away all that. We...we would have murdered for your opportunities and you waste them! And then you become a supervillain to rob money you don´t need to give it to your parents who also don´t need it, but you always tag along on heists, you always want your cut and then you blow it.  
And then you have the gall to reform, seriously? Lame dude, really lame. And then you make friends with the Flash and then you become a hero and you´re still a bleeding heart communist, still dress bad and still screw up. God, you´re useless!  
And then the rat fixation - they brought the plague! And they´re creepy and then you went mad. That´s crazy, man. Your powers are ridiculous, you suck at poker and you dress worse than me - and I didn´t think that was possible! And for some damn reason, I love you.

I love how your hair moves, how it smells and how it shines in the sun, I adore the freckles, I love your generosity, your confidence, that you always stand up for yourself and others, that you´re brave, loyal and an amazing friend, that you help me when I ask, that you go on my stupid missions, that you trust me, that you always listen, I love your smile, your voice, your grins, your laughter, I love when we snark at each other, I love how adorable you look when you´re almost still asleep.

I love you. You infuriate me, I positively hate your father and his patronising stares, you dress awfully and I still want to spend every second of my life with you. Dammit, Piper, what have you done to me?"


	11. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rogues Reunion, which means lots of alcohol

"Listen, Digger, I know we´ve had our differences in the past-"  
"We have?!"  
"Yes. I don´t like you very much. Your jokes, your lack of personal hygene, your utter absence of personal tact or dignity, your insults, the brawls, you ratted me out to the cops once, you keep asking me for money, you ring at the most unopportune times, you have no respect for women, you have the brain of a neanderthal and the smell of a dead yeti and you always throw stuff at people when you´re feeling like it."  
"And?"  
Piper sighed. "I just wanted to say... I may utterly despise you, but you´re still family...the black sheep no one talks about, but family. So, in all good faith-"  
"Yes?"  
"Would you please get off me already?"  
"Oh, oops. Sure.


	12. That's unfair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Even though he is oblivious to it, James has to stop teasing Piper.

Piper knew that they were supervillains.  
They were supposed to be evil, manipulative and unfair.  
It was a job requirement, it was expected of them.  
So, it really shouldn´t bother him, right?

Besides, he didn´t really think that James did it on purpose.  
He wasn´t oblivious to his own charms (definetely not, he was very, very well aware what effect he could have on people) but he was unaware of the effect it had on Piper, otherwise he wouldn´t walk around in the safehouse halfnaked. He wouldn´t wear his costume pants (his tight, tight pants that accentuated his assets so very well) when he was off the clock, he wouldn´t step out of the bathroom clad in only a towel when he was still dripping wet, he wouldn´t eat ice cream *that* suggestively, and he certainly wouldn´t do this.  
"Piper? I need you...r help."  
Piper swallowed. God, ws his hearing filtered by Freud or what?  
"Sure thing, buddy, what do you need?"  
"I bumped, well was thrown into this filing cabinet during the last heist and my back, well, there´s this big bruise and the doc - well, Mark - had some of that salve he used when he got hurled into a skyscraper last month. Normally I could do it myself, but my back really hurts. Help me out, Piper?"  
Okay, now _that_ was just playing dirty.  
"Of course, sure."  
Inwardly, Piper died a thousand deaths. Ok, the previous behavior (and that had been casually sexy) had been tolerable, now it was pure torture.  
James sat down on his bed, pulled off his shirt and turned his back to Piper. Okay, half-naked blonde in your bed who wants essentially a backrub?  
Piper sat down behind James, got the salve, spread it over his hands and gingerly rubbed it into James´ skin.  
"That feels so amazing, Piper. Yeah, right there...no, little lower, that´s it."

 

James positively melted into the mattress and moaned a little.  
God, it was hard to wait until Piper finally caught on. He didn´t think he´d need to drop more hints, but apparently the "give me a backrub" angle wasn´t working.  
Maybe he should up the ante...  
would it be too obvious if he showed up "drunk" and very, very affectionate late at night at Piper´s doorstep?


	13. A miracle's a miracle, even if it's ordinary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A rainy day with James and Piper

It´s nothing special, really.  
It´s just an ordinary day, a bit overcast, colorful leaves on the street and a chilly wind tears through the city.  
Piper did not bring an umbrella with him this morning. He wishes he did, because the sky looks darker every second. He looks at the clock and it´s just 5pm and - damn, it´s the 12th. There is a game tonight, which means that Mark is literally going to rain on someone´s parade. He doesn´t know what that quarterback did to piss him off, but it must´ve been bad...or it must have involved a girl.  
He sighs and steel himself for a jog home through the rain.  
The first drops fall as he exits the shelter. Just great.  
"Hello my fabulous friend! How are you doing?"  
It´s James, a sight for sore eyes, clad in a bright yellow rain cape and wearing blue wellies. Also, he´s holding a huge see-through umbrella over his head. James´ smile is as bright as the sun. Piper steps underneath the umbrella. It´s heavenly!  
James´ appearance is a miracle!

"What brings you to this part of town?" Piper asks.  
"Joey´s Diner. The applie pie is to die for," James answers with a twinkle in his eyes. Of course it is.  
"Do you actually leave the house like this this morning?"  
"Of course, there´s a game tonight. I don´t know what that quarterback did to piss Mark off, but it must have been really bad. Probably something to do with a lady, you know how Mark is."  
Piper grins. That is why he likes James.

The rain gets worse. Piper looks up to look at the sky and there is an impossible rainbow there.  
"Mark must be feeling really confused, huh?"  
"This isn´t Mark, this me."  
"How?" he asks astounded.  
"Painted it on the umbrella, of course. Took me four hours, but it´s worth it." James cracks a grin. "Tricked you."  
"You´re impossible."  
"I know, I know. Hey, you have any plans for today?"  
"Why?" Piper asks, thinking about getting home, taking a hot shower and watch the Star Trek marathon.  
"Just because I´m going to the diner, and if you want the protection of my umbrella, you´re going to have to accompany me there. I´ll bring you home afterwards, promise."  
"You´re taking me hostage, you evil, evil man."  
"Yes," James admitted, "and I´m going to make you eat pie with me."  
Piper grins. "I´m in your clutches, woe is me!"  
"Be like that and I´ll force you to order a milkshake."  
"I´m quivering, oh no, please, anything but that!"  
Both start to laugh as they approach the bright neon sign of the diner.  
"Why did you really come to this part of town?"  
"I know that you work there at the shelter, I know that you never bring umbrellas with you and I know that you don´t really like football and don´t pay much attention to the game schedule. Also, we haven´t seen each other in ages."  
"You know, normal friends just call if they want to spend time with each other."  
Yeah, but which one of us is exactly normal?"  
"True, true," Piper admits.  
So, it maybe wasn´t a miracle like you´d expect, but it was an ordinary miracle nontheless


	14. Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James and Piper face Deadshot together

"Lay off the swears, wouldya? No need for insults."  
"Ooh, standing up for your boyfriend?" Deadshot snarled.  
"That´s not-"  
"Oh, finally coming out of the closet? Trickster, Trickster - admit it. You´re so gay for the poof over there. Your boyfriend´s so silent, what´s the matter, Piper?"  
"Leave him alone!" Trickster shouted.  
"Touchy? So emotional, you and your boyfriend--"  
"He´s not my boyfriend! He´s my husband!"  
"Yes, he´....wait what?"  
That little moment of hesitation was all Piper needed to bring the blade of grass to his lips. The soundwave reached Deadhsot´s ears, wriggled into his brain and planted one thought there.  
Deadshot began to beat himself up.  
Trickster grinned and grabbed Piper´s hand.  
"Go on, I know you want to say it," Piper said smiling.  
"I love you, Piper. And Deadshot," his grin got impossibly wide, "stop hitting yourself."  
Needless to say, he didn´t.


	15. Gentlemen, start your engines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by the Batman: Brave and the Bold episode where the heores and villains have to participate in a race in order to save the world, but now with more rogues

The Rogues weren´t great with authority. Or laws. Or rules in general.  
So, whoever chose them to act as champions of Central City must have been a few fries short of a happy meal.  
Assembling a more or less random bunch of superheroes and villains from various cities of Earth and tell them essentially "The winner doesn´t die" wasn´t exactly what you´d call a formidable condition for a fair competition.

The Rogues looked around a bit sheepishly as the other villains assembled, repaired and improved their cars - Joker´s Jokermobile, Catwoman´s Catmobile and what was probably the first car ever invented for the Gentleman Ghost. The heroes also seemed busy but competent. They were screwed.

The Rogues weren´t known for gimmicky cars and get aways. Many of them didn´t even own a car in their civilian lifes. They stared at the pile of car parts in front of them.  
Mick broke the silence first: "Can any of you make sense of this?"  
Roscoe picked up a metal piece and examined it. "Yes, that´s the - oh." He turned the piece upside down. "Now, that´s...I don´t even have a driver´s license. What the heck am I looking at?"  
"That would be the rear spoiler, from a Cadillac, I think," Piper said. The Rogues turned around and stared at him. "I´m a bit of a mechanic, so what?"  
"Can you fix this?" Len asked.  
"Not in an hour, sorry guys. I guess we´re stuck with the alternative solution."

The alternative solution was actually the "standard" procedure.  
Mongo had teleported the heroes and villains to this barren planet with their trademark vehicles. Since their "business" identities lacked those (except for James who had gotten a pair of inline skates with rockets straped to the sides), their civilian means of transportation had been brought with them. These included an old ice cream truck, a rusty pick-up, a bicycle, a solar-powered car which resembled a ladybug and which couldn´t go more than 15 miles per hour, a green motorcycle ("I like green, there´s nothing wrong with this color!"), a Vespa and a red cabriolet. Aside from the cabriolet and the motorcycle, nothing stood a chance against the competition. And even their best options were laughable compared to the cars of the other villains and heroes.  
"Maybe we can catch a ride with Black Manta, his ...robot-thing is big enough."  
"Tried it, no."  
"Do you think any of the heroes would be noble enough to let us ride with them?....yeah, thought so. We´re doomed, and so is Central City."  
"There has to be a way out of there."  
"I´m out of ideas. Sorry, guys."  
"I have an idea!" James announced, smiling brightly, "we just have to focus on our strenghts. We are unique amongst the villains and for good reasons. As individuals, we´re strong, but together, we´re invincible. Together, we can prevail."  
The Rogues looked at their resources, saw the cars, spare parts, the rockets, and grinned.

All vehicles rolled to the start, engines roared. In the end, the Rogues had formed carpools with the cabriolet and the pick-up. Not competing meant instant death for Central City. They had to try. And they had a plan.  
All eyes were fixated on the lights and their ears strained for the sound of Mongul´s voice. They all waited for the command. They waited for the "Ready, steady aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand go!"  
Tires screeched as the cars accelerated, every contestant determined to win this race.  
Except for the Rogues who put in the reverse and attacked Mongul instead. Fire and ice combined, the weather unleashed, the light becoming a weapon; Piper´s hastly assembled scrambling device interrupted Mongul´s contact with his war moon, so his threats were empty. Roscoe spinning so fast he sucked away the oxygen from Mongul. Digger and James grinning in unison as they threw a rocket powered rubber chicken and a rocket powered boomerang at the villain. Of course they won.  
They might not have won the race, but they had triumphed over Mongul. And had quietly acquired their own "war moon".


	16. Name-Calling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James and Piper practice insults. It doesn't go too well.

"You malicious meddler!"  
"You obnoxious oaf!"  
"Dumb deviant!"  
"Irritating imbecile!"  
"You moronic...moron!"  
"Fine, you pathetic...Piper!"  
"Uncreative un...uh...guy!"  
"Honey bunches of oats!"  
"That doesn´t even make any sense!"  
"It´s an insult, it doesn´t have to!"

 

"Shut up, both of you!"  
"Sorry, Len."  
"Won´t happen again."

"Man, is he an ass or what?"  
"Yeah, total tyrann."  
"Corrupt captain."  
"Kooky kill-joy."  
"Icy idiot."  
"Oh, that´s a good one."  
"Thanks, James."


	17. Trademark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mick, Piper and costumes

"Come on, isn´t that a bit much?"  
At "that", Mick pointed at Piper´s attire.  
"What´s wrong with it? Suit - I did have Gambi re-inforce it with carbon-fibre, this new armor stuff - utility belt, holster and cloak. I went back to the cloak, off-on-off-on...trust me, I learned from my mistakes in the 90s."  
Piper did a little twirl.  
"The gloves are new, but these days you have to watch out for forensics like whoa. And okay, the glasses are new. I don´t *really* need them, but they make me look cool."  
"I wasn´t talking about the threads."  
"The flute? Oh, it´s the tuning fork, is it? I´ll have you know, it´s a vital part of my equipment."  
"No, not that. It´s _that_."  
"What?"  
"That _thing_ on your shoulder."  
"Oh, you mean Rathaniel? He´s not a thing, Mick." Piper petted his little friend. "I always have a rat, get used to it."  
Mick sighed and threw his hands up in exasperation.  
"Since when am I the sane one around here?" he asked and walked away.


	18. It's almost tradition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Linda is excellent material for a supervillain

"Did you ever think you´d get used to it?"  
"Honestly, no. Still, I don´t think I can imagine living without it now."  
"I know! Me too! You never notice it before, when you don´t have it, but I would miss it like hell know."  
"Mmmh-mhhh. Piper, sometimes life is good."  
Linda and Piper reclined on the couch, feet on the couch table as Wally speed-cleaned the apartment.  
"Needanything?Moreiceteahoney?"  
"We´re fine, baby."  
"Okaylindaloveyou."

"What did he do this time? Forget the anniversary?"  
"No, he was rude when my mother visited."  
"Oooh, ouch. The notorious mother-in-law, no man can get out of that trap unharmed."  
"True.  
Wally? Don´t forget to take out the trash, do the taxes and water the plants!"  
"Surehoney!"  
"My dearest Linda, are you sure about that hero business? You would have made a fine supervillain. We would have loved you back in the days."  
She smiled mischievously.  
"We will never know"


	19. Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a tender moment in Countdown

It´s stupid, so, so stupid. It´s the last thing he needs, the last thing they need right now. It´s stupid, embarrassing, so pointless and it only makes it worse instead of stopping it.  
Tears roll over his cheeks, drip down and he his vision blurs. He takes off the glasses and puts his hand over his eyes. Don´t let him see, don´t let him notice...  
But of course he notices, they´re both on high alert, they´re on the run. He notices everything.  
"Piper?" he whispers.  
"Go back to sleep, it´s nothing," ans oh god, his voice, he can barely force the words out, they threaten to break on his tongue. The sobs want to come out, but he holds them back. He needs to be quiet. He hates being quiet, he hates the silence. But they need the silence to survive.  
But he needs sound to live.  
And the little, brittle strain of melody trickles down the alley. Somewhere up there, someone is practicing the piano and trying really hard, but failing. This note is off, this one is too slow, this one is too fast... but it´s the first song he ever heard, the first piece of music he knew. It brings back the memories, of not hearing, of the hospitals, of the surgeries, of the pain and then of the music that made it all worth it. And it all comes back up, escapes the little place he had made in his heart where he keeps his childhood, where he keeps his old memories.  
James scoots closer, he has been asleep, he´s warm and he´s there and Piper needs to be strong now. He has to keep watch, he has to protect James, has to protect both of them, because no one else will.  
They have no one else.

A warm solid arm wraps around itself around Piper´s chest. He can´t hold it in anymore. He cries, he sobs in James´ arm, buries his head in the crook of his neck and lets go.  
He doesn´t want to be strong anymore. He doesn´t want to run anymore. He wants the simpler days back, he wants the fun back, back when it was just a game without casualties, before reality set in.  
Something rumbles, he feels it before he hears it and isn´t that peculiar?

James really does notice everything. He hums Mozart, the little melody that was wrong before, except now it´s right.  
He falls asleep as James holds the nightmares at bay.


	20. Appreciation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Rogues actually like their Flashes...some more than others

The Flash Museum was being opened, had a grand event with the mayor, the Flashes and a lot of smiling. The entry was free so the Rogues left their costumes behind and decided to go admire their displays.  
James had been to LA recently to visit an old friend and had missed out about the museum, so he was surprised when the giant bronze statue of Barry glistened in the sun.

"HE gets a museum? He?" Trickster sputtered.  
"Yes, apparently," Piper deadpanned.  
"But...he? Isn´t that unfair?"  
"He is a superhero, the people love him, the money from the museum is being donated to charity."  
"Piper, why don´t you marry the guy if you love him so much?" Digger shouted.  
"O ha ha, very funny."  
"Still...I think the other Flash would have been better."  
"Geezer Flash? Or no, not Baby Flash," Len intervenes. He was eating a "Captain Cold Chilly Cornetto" and generally having a very good day.  
"Come on, after all, he is our Flash. We barely fight Geezer Flash, so why do you want the museum to be his?"  
"Because he punched Hitler in the face once and every guy who does that deserves an museum of his own."

The Rogues stopped for a moment and thought.  
"I never really thought about that....that is pretty cool!"  
"After a thorough reflection upon my previous opinion...he should get his own museum."  
"Wow, he really took us by storm, didn´t he?"


	21. The oldest kind of magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James, Piper, stories and nightmares

Piper whimpers, he tosses and turns. The nightmares are back again, every night without fail. They´re about explosions, about darkness and monsters in the night, about a terrible silence, about blood, about his friends dying, about him dying, screaming without sound for someone that will never come.

The incubus slithers closer. It brings nightmares and Piper is its prey.

There is movement, there is color that has no right to be so bright in the middle of the night. It is the gold of the sun, the blue of the skies and it stands in its way. The incubus wants the colors to go away, they hurt, they stand between him and his prey.  
"Get out," the colors say, and they´re not colors, it´s a man. It´s an enemy.  
The incubus tries to get closer, but the man stands in his way.  
"No more. Not any further, not now, not ever. Out."  
The Incubus flinches, but it doesn´t retreat.  
The man shines with inner light and the Incubus retreats into the night, flees in terror.

The man is a bright figure as he sits down at Piper´s bed. He strokes Piper´s face gently, cups his face and kisses his forehead.  
"Hello Hartley. Long time no see, huh? But don´t you worry about nightmares anymore. I brought a story for you today, a good one. And I know many more, enough for every night of your life. No more bad dreams."  
He stretches beside Piper on the bed and begins to talk.  
It is a tale of dragons and princesses, of knights and monsters and of a band of merry men. It´s a good story, the best. And of course, it has a happy ending.


	22. I don't know why I still hang out with you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sick Rogues and a pissed-off Piper

"Oh yes, oh Piper, please!"  
"God, yes give it to me!"  
"No, give it to me, I need it so badly!"  
There was incredible heat, the room cast in shadows. Bodies moving, over and under blankets. They panted, shivering, trembling. They felt so hot, like they were burning. Heated feverish gazes focused on Piper, begging with their eyes, mouths forming incoherent noises and they were begging.  
"Piper, you´re amazing, no, don´t stop, more!"  
"Yes, we need more! More!"  
"Yes, oh Piper, yes! Yes!"  
"You´re like the light, the sun! You´re my savior, my hero, you are manna in the wilderness, light in the darkness, my shining knight! God, yes, do that again!"

...  
"You guys are the worst. I am never going on a grocery run when you´re sick again. Geez!"


	23. Demons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The demons in our lives are seldom actual demons. Unless they are.

Piper had been surrounded by demons all his life. His demons were called mother and father, they were called teachers and doctors, they were called peers, associates and friends.  
Little by little they sucked out his soul, they drained hope, they drained passion, they drained love. With every disapproving stare, every shake of the head, every comment that was whispered and every insult that was yelled, every silent rejection, every silent neglect.  
In the end, he was rescued by the most unlikely angels ever who taught him to stand up for himself, to not let himself be dragged down, to stand above the rules and hold your head high.

James didn´t believe in demons, not in the superstitious ones, the kind with horns, goat´s feet and a trident. He didn´t believe in the metaphorical demons. He didn´t believe that hell was other people, that ordinary humans were monsters.  
He didn´t believe in the devil.  
But that didn´t stop the devil from believing in him.


	24. Rumble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Food Fight!

"Lady and Gentlemen! Let´s get ready to rrrrrrrrrummmmmmbllllllle!"  
With those words, the Rogues semi-annual food fight contest began.  
That didn´t mean that they didn´t have food fights for the rest of year, just that they specifically prepared for this one.  
James had been practically living in the kitchen for three days, watching over boiling pots and cackling madly whenever someone walked by.  
Roscoe went to a Belly Burger and got the greasiest food available.  
Len and Lisa bought a truckload of ice cream. However, only one half was meant for the fight, they kept the rest for themselves.  
Mark had perfected his chopstick throw technique, Mick had made his special chili. Sam polished the dishes very carefully and hummed as he worked on the cuttlery, admiring the reflective surfaces.  
Digger had gone for a classic and had ordered a lot of cakes to throw at people. Roy had stocked up on skittles.  
Piper had sighed about the sheer lunacy and immaturity, but that didn´t stop him from ordering from his favorite Vietnamese restaurant in unusually large quanitities.

The fight was nothing short of epic, spaghettis flying through the air, ice cream being tossed like grenades, meatballs leaving red stains everywhere, a pie being thrown in everyone´s face (even Digger´s), chili and something pink covering the floor, leading to an impromptu "mud" wrestling match between Roscoe and Sam, breadsticks sending crumbs flying, whipped cream covering everyone.

The Rogues sat exhausted on the floor, panting, holding each other up.  
James reached over to Mark, dragged his finger across the white stuff covering his face and licked it.  
"This is delicious! Digger, you have to tell me where you got these!"  
"Sure thing. Anyone else have soy sauce in uncomfortable places."  
"Yes."  
"Yes."  
"Yes."  
"Well, I wouldn´t call it uncomfortable.... but yes."  
"Guys, can we agree on something for the next one?"  
"Hmmm?"  
"Please, no more wasabi."


	25. Androids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rogues and killer robots

"You will be disassembled. Organic life is inferior to us cyberbeings. We androids are the rightful rulers of this world. Surrender. Surrender."

An army of gleaming androids marched towards the frightened masses. They weren´t fast, but they didn´t need to be. They never got tired. They never needed rest. They would never stop.  
Originally, they had started out as service droids, but add to that a freeak accident, a thunderstorm and lightning striking in a most unconvenient place and you got an android army.  
Cuttlery and workshop tools became weapons, radios and inbuilt cellphones became transmitters and wavelength manipulators, stainless alloy became impenetrable.

But they were no match for the might of the elements, for fire, ice and storm. Their gleaming surfaces were shiny and perfect for reflection. The radio signals could be tampered with. Exploding boomerangs in just the right places proved fatal. Miniature tornados and diamond guns worked just as well. Dropping anvils from heights also did the trick.  
But nothing was more devastating than the rainbow, because it brought emotion. It brought regret, it brought shame, it brought disgust and self-loathing.  
It brought utter destruction.


	26. You commie-bastard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Piper is a socialist and awesome

"I can´t believe you said that! The capitalist economy is bleeding this country dry! We´re heading straight for a stock crash! The greed of the fat cats will ruin this country!"  
"You can´t be seriously promoting communism? That wrecked the Soviet Union, crippled it, it´s still wreaking havoc! What the world needs right now is a global free market, equal rights for everyone!"  
"That´s what I want, equality - but not that individualistic greedy perversion of what we call equality. Don´t you see that property is theft? The privatized property should be shared with everybody. Everything belongs to everyone!"  
"That´s it, you commie-bastard, you´re hurting America and I will not stand for it!"

Len and James watched from a safe distance as Piper got into a fight with a big man wearing a trucker cap.  
"Shouldn´t we uh ... help?" James asked, sipping from his coke.  
"Relax, Piper´s gonna be fine. That guy´s so drunk-see? He can´t even hit Piper. Hey, you moron, you hit like a little girl!"  
"Not helping, Lenny!" Piper shouted and dodged as the man charged at him like a bull. Luckily for Piper, the man was seeing double and crashed into the wall and knocked himself out. Piper joined Len and James at their booth and stole a few of James´ fries.  
"Are you actively applying communist economy theories to my food?"  
"No, I´m hungry. You gonna finish your chicken nuggets?"  
"What the hell brought that fight on?" Len asked. Usually when a Rogue started a fight, his name began with a "D" and he usually deserved what happened to him for that.  
"That´s the funny thing, I was just asking the waitress for a refill of my coffee, she said ´in a second´ and fetches something, and then that guy starts to talk about ´customer is king, alwys right´and that kind of stuff. And then he tried to punch me in the face."  
"Piper, how can you be a socialist and a supervillain anyway? Doesn´t that clash?"  
"No, you just have to know how to blend your ...tastes."  
The waitress came with his refill, excused herself for an emergency with a frying pan in the kitchen and then slipped him her number very unsubtly.


	27. Choices

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Other road James could have taken

The boy stands at the crossroads.  
His old life is behind him and his new life awaits him.  
One side is brightly lit and he can fear faint music, the circus is calling. With these shoes, he´s not afraid to fall anymore. He can do all these stunts he didn´t dare to do before, he can be the best damn aerialist the world has ever seen.  
Then...he can defy gravity! He can walk on air! And what is he going to do with it? Be in the circus, pretend that he´s an illusion? This is real!  
In the circus tent, it´s all smoke and mirros, tricks and pretending. But he´s real, he can walk on air! He´s smart - too smart.  
He can´t do this forever, he has to change.

The boy looks at the other road. It´s twisting and turning and it looks dangerous.  
It looks thrilling! It looks fun!

The carny kid leaves the carny, but the carny never leaves the kid.  
He takes the bright colors with him, he takes the tricks, the gestures, the showmanship, the fun.  
He becomes the Trickster.

In another life, he stays with the circus, he stays James from the Flying Jesses. He works with his dad, but he doesn´t need him anymore. He´s the star, but he´s just a circus artist. He´s ...nothing.

In another life, he leaves. He does fake his cv to get into MIT but he graduates summa cum laude and becomes an inventor/enginerr with his own laboratory and government funding. A few years after that he gets approached by Amanda Waller.  
He gets killed when the lab is attacked by a supervillain.

In another universe, the mafia targets the circus for protection money and his dad dies during a show. He is more afraid to fall now and leaves. He comes into foster care, gets out of foster care and goes to college, graduates, gets a 9 to 5 job, gets married, gets a mortgage. He has two kids, gets a dog and lives a normal life, with the fear of falling.

The train speeds through the desert. His life sucks right now, hunted, pursued, thought to be a murderer and fugitive... at least he´s with Piper.  
His life is bad. But at least he chose it for himself.

And in another universe, he dies on the train, gets dragged through the desert and lives on as an voice in Piper´s mind.  
But he loves. He loves his life, although it sucks...and it has kind of ended. But he has loved every second, miserable or fun. And there is someone he loves, he loves his family, he loves!

And the light envelops him and he goes on to live and love...


	28. Bail

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Piper has to bail out the Rogues

"This ain´t the union. You can´t go on strike!"  
"Of course I can! And I will! I´m staying out of this heist."  
"Wuss!"  
Piper rose from the chair, eyes red and puffy, face incredibly pale and sweaty, trembling and stifling a cough.  
"Listen, Len, I am ill. I´m probably highly infective. And I´m not going on that heist. I feel absolutely miserable. Now leave me on you before I heave up!"  
The Rogues backed away.  
Piper did look like he could do it and ill Rogues weren´t pretty sight to behold.  
"We´re going to the bank, take care. Leave a candle in the window for us."  
"Get out!"  
"Yes darling."

Piper heard the door bang shut, winced and wrapped the blanket tighter around him, feeling even more miserable.

Two hours later, the phone rung.  
He tried to shut it out but even without being sick and superhearing, it was impossible. He got up, dragged himself to the phone and croaked a "H´lo?"  
"Piper, oh my god, thank you! Um...Mr Darrow, I mean, Henry."  
"You´re in jail, aren´t you?"  
"Yes. You´re our phone call, so please bail us out?"  
"I can´t bail you out for robbing a bank!"  
"Shhhh! We..uh..didn´t get to the bank. Before we drove to the bank, someone cut us off at the traffic light, we got all out of the car and...had a brawl on the street. And then we got arrested and...just, please bail us out. There´s a dude who looks like he wants to eat me and...oh god, please please pleeeeease get us out of here."

Piper pulled the sweater over his head, wound a scarf around his neck, put on his hat and fetched his "respectable person"wallet. Henry Darrow went to the station to bail out his buddies. Thank god they had been in civil clothes before the robbery...and that JJ carried so much fake ids that he could probably outfit every teenager in the highschools with one.  
It was the second time that he walked into the police station without handcuffs. The first was a stupid, stupid dare.

"Pi--Henry! Oh, you´re here!" James lunged at him and almost tackled him to the floor,"I love you, I love you, I love you!"  
"Kids, you´re embarrassing us, let´s move. Thanks, Pi..Henry."  
Len, Mick and Sam clapped on his shoulder and walked out. Mark and Roscoe dragged Digger by his ankles out of the cell, grunting a "thanks" as they went by. James kept his arms around Piper and led him outside.  
"That bad?" he croaked.  
"Yes, that dude in the cell - he was scary. He kept licking his lips and then looked at me. But you got me out of that, thanks, Piper."  
Piper rolled his eyes as James and him crammed themselves into the car backseat next to Digger and Sam. Mark and Roscoe had decided to go per pedes...so, Mark went into an alley and ascended into the sky under the cover of sudden fog while Roscoe spun away.  
James still was wrapped tightly around Piper.  
They drove home, got out of the car, dragging Digger and Piper respectively.  
Piper let James drag him to bed. He wasn´t that sick, but he sure wasn´t going to complain.  
James bundled him up in clothes and snuggled into his side.  
"James, g´way. I´m sick and you´re going to catch it and be miserable all day."  
"But you were miserable all day but still got us out."  
"I couldn´t say no, you needed me."  
"You love us."  
Piper coughed and won a little time. What was he supposed to say?  
"Of course."  
Well, that was kinda like the "I love you" he had been trying to say for the last four months.  
James snuggled into his side.  
"Am I your teddy bear?"  
"You´re my hero, you saved me!"  
Piper was okay with that. He felt sick, but he was happy, he was warm...and he was James, Piper would be happy with him anywhere.


	29. I want you to vote

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Piper has a voting campaign. James helps.

Piper stood in front of the copy machine and waited patiently as it spat out the leaflets for today´s campaign.

Organizing all those events, the marches and just about everything about in this campaign was stressful, but he could manage it. It was for a good cause after all - he needed to raise as much awareness as possible. This election was very important, not only to him, but the whole community.  
Thank god James was here to help, he´d be swamped in work otherwise.  
Wally had offered some help and while Piper needed all the help he could get, Wally´s involvement could not only taint the Flash politically, it was also likely his well-meaning help could make matters worse. Wally was brave, nice and helpful...but he wasn´t necessarily the brightest.  
Linda had the brains in the relationship and she had supported Piper already with her journalistic efforts and news coverage, although Piper suspected she only did it to stop his "drama queen" act.  
Personally, he didn´t think that he was overreacting, it was not like he had claimed that the new candidate was a supervillain bent on world domination or everything....

The copy machine had finished its work and he walked back to their headquarters, arms full of leaflets that extoled the evil vices of the next potential mayor.  
He entered his bureau and put the papers down onto an empty chair. The office looked like a mess, but he was in no mood for cleaning.

On his desk sat a little package. He read the label and smiled.  
Apparently "Giuseppe Botazzi" had sent him something from L.A.  
A big smile spread on his face as he opened it. It contained a huge rubber chicken and that, if he had failed to deduce the identity of his mysterious benefactor from the name alone, was enough for him to recognize the shipper of the package.  
Who on earth but the Trckster would sent him a rubber chicken per mail from LA, especially whe he knew perfectly well that the Trickster was in fact still in Keystone?  
The package didn´t contain a letter or a note, so he examined the rubber chicken more closely. It seemed ordinary, but if the Trickster sent it, Piper could be sure it was anything but.

Then he discovered a sticker from his own "don´t vote for the scumbag" collection and there was a small blue envelope attached.  
"Dear Piper,  
we both know that as felons we can´t vote, and that any donation from myself would be likely followed up with an investigation from the police, so I asked my good "friend" Giuseppe Botazzi to make a donation from his own very much legal and proper bank account to your campaign.  
T  
ps: my other "friends" could pitch in if you need more help"

Piper found a checque in the envelope with money they could use very well.  
It was nice of the Trickster to show his support...through a fake identity from California, hidden in a rubber chicken nontheless.

He placed the chicken on his desk and pinned a badge on its chest.  
And when later his boyfriend entered the bureau with two cups of steaming coffee, he smiled.  
Maybe mondays weren´t that bad afterall.


	30. Farmer's Market

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Rogues on a farmer's market

It was weird.  
Here he was, in the middle of nowhere, utterly confused, weirded out and here he found newfound appreciation for Len.

 

Piper watched with faint curiosity, like you´d watch an unknown animal, as people wandered around, chatting, smiling, advertising goods... he supposed it was like from a postcard only that he never cared for those, depicting a comfortable, familiar, old-fashioned scene. The socialist rebel in him scoffed that this would be ideal propaganda for the republican party - they even had one stand with apple pie, for god´s sake.  
He sighed and pushed the sunglasses up his nose.  
He felt like a fish out of water and was quite uncomfortable.  
As he made his way back to their car, he spotted Mick talking amiably to an old lady who had a cart for vegetables. To his shame, he didn´t recognize most of them; vegetables were the colored pieces on his plate, he´d never given much thought as to how they grew, where they were cultivated or even how they looked like. He admitted it, he was a city kid. A farmer´s market was not for him.

Mick, having grown up on a farm, was overwehelmed with fond nostalgia and in his element. James had spotted a horse and was head over heels with the prospect of riding it, something he had not done since he had left the circus. A big city was no proper place for a horse, unless you were a peretentious rich guy with money to flounce around (Piper had inwardly winced at that one. He was sure that if he had been a girl and had asked for a pony, he would have gotten it. In fact, he was pretty sure he would have gotten it anyway, it was just money to his parents).  
A crowd of excited children and teenagers had formed around Digger who was talking of his childhood, of the outback, of hunting, of the woods, survival tricks that would make every boy scout blush, and the kids were just mesmerized by his words. The generous smile on Digger´s face was something you did not see very often, but it suited him nontheless.  
Sam apparently had grandparents who owned a farm and where he spent a few weeks in the summer. He was haggling with a tall man about ...something. Piper wasn´t sure, vegetables, fruit or something.

Len was leaning against the hood of the car, arms crossed over his chest, defensive stance. He was a city kid, the outdoors never had held any fascination for him. It was boring and strange and dull. He wanted to go, to feel asphalt under his boots, hear traffic, see the skyscrapers, see the neon lights, feel the action. It was too quiet, too calm. He watched his friends, feeling at peace with themselves for once. JJ had actually gotten on a horse and was riding in circles around the farmer´s market. He seemed happy...but then, when did he not seem happy?  
Mick and Sam seemed happy, too, talking with smiles on their faces and grand gestures, sharing old stories and making people laugh. Digger had a flock of kids around him, admiring him as he gestured how to hunt a wild animal with just a boomerang. He never smiled like that unless he talked of his home in Australia. Same with Sam, Mick and JJ, there was something in their expressions that spoke of fondness, of memories and simpler times.

He couldn´t relate to that.  
Piper walked his way and stopped at his side.  
"It´s just a stupid market, what´s so special about that?" he asked.  
Len glanced at him, seeing the genuine question, the puzzlement of something he didn´t understand. They were borth foreigners in this place.  
"Nothing, ´cept it´s a piece of home for them."  
"Oh." Piper understood. And then understood that he´d never feel that way


	31. What was, could have been and never happened at all

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Black Lanterns and Piper's old partner Fury

He was pure Fury, all strength and power. As soon as he got out, he went after Piper, he didn´t know whether out of hate, love or both. Piper fought back and then he was back in jail. Of course.

The dead rose and attacked the jail. The fury in him died down, it shrank and was replaced with fright. He didn´t want to die... he couldn´t die without seeing his family, without saying goodybe, without seeing Piper a last time. He didn´t see his family again.  
He never had the chance to say goodbye.  
But he saw Piper - a freak black marionette, a caricature of what Piper had been. There was a hole in his chest where his heart should have been. A black ring graced his finger and his face was white as bone.  
His eyes lacked the compassion that Piper had always had.  
His mouth twisted into a smile.  
He curled his fingers around the bars and bent them out of shape.  
"I sense...fear," he said. His voice was dead.  
Piper was dead. Briefly, emotions flickered in Earl: he was sad, he was angry, he was afraid, he didn´t want to die, he still loved Piper, a tiny part had never stopped loving him.  
Earl died.

"Earl Povich of Earth. Rise!"


	32. Words of Blessing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Digger has a talk with Piper

"Piper!" Digger roared.  
Oh god, he was drunk! Digger was beyond drunk, wasted, smashed and should be dead from alcohol poisoning. Digger waddled over to Piper, nearly avoiding to crash into Len who was explaining the culinary genius of ice cream to Mark who nodded every once in a while and was actually asleep with open eyes.  
Piper looked around frantically - he hated being the only semi-coherent person at those parties. He hated getting drunk, but he´d gladly bear the hangover and shame right now, if he didn´t have to face Digger.  
He really couldn´t deal with Digger´s insults and slurs right now.  
Digger wrapped a strong arm around Piper´s shoulders. He reeked of alcohol, positively disgusting.  
"Yer a poof, I know, Piper, but lemme tell you something: you´re our poof and if anyone ever is troubling you...you tell me and I´ll beat them to a pulp, right? We gotta watch out for each other, you know. And," he turned his head, wanting to make sure no one overheard, that no one knew, "you´re my favorite poof."  
"I´m the only gay guy you know, right?"  
"Doesn´t stop it from being true"  
He slapped Piper´s shoulder hard and then promptly fell over on his face.  
Well, that was the closest he´d ever get to words of blessing from Digger.  
Piper felt warm inside, and it was not because of the alcohol.


	33. Famous last words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rogues fight together, Rogues fall together

The heaven rained fire and ash.  
Silver demons leapt from flying ships, spreading blood death everywhere they went. People were dying witn no one to save them, without hope. All was lost.

The Rogues huddled together underneath the golden statue of Barry Allen.  
They gripped their weapons tight, expressions grim.  
They were going to die.

James reached out with his hand, slowly and tenderly, almost as if he was afraid, almost as if he feared to do something blasphemous. But he steeled himself and the hand stopped shaking.  
"One for all," he said, unable to surpress the shiver in his voice.  
The Rogues smiled for the last time.  
Gloved hands covered ungloved hands, rough, callused fingers grasped each other tightly, taking comfort from the bond, from the feeling of being together, of being friends, of being brothers.  
"All for one," they said in unison.  
The Rogues rose as one.  
And fell as one.


	34. Messiah

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How James met Mindy, fell in love and how it ended

He met her in the hospital.

After a heist that went a tiny bit wrong, he had earned himself a stay in Keystone Memorial for a concussion and a cracked rib. He was placed in a room with a cranky old man who was named Eugene. They annoyed the hell out of each other. Insults here, stealing the remote control for the room´s only tv there, telling the nurses the other had suddenly become a vegetarian...the only time they called a truce was when Eugene´s family visited. His wife Hitomi, their daughter Mindy and the son Bobby. Apparently Eugene was in hospital for his heart, for working too hard, pushing too hard, working overtime too often and being stressed almost constantly.

While Mom chided her husband fondly, Bobby diappeared in the direction of the nearest pretty nurse and Mindy found herself talking to the blond guy in her father´s hospital room. He was handsome, charming and utterly childish. His smile was dazzling and infectious and soon she laughed when he told her jokes, smiled when he performed silly little card tricks and snarked with Dad. She liked him, she decided.

After a short time, both her Dad and the guy - "Call me James" - were being released from hospital.

Hospital policy required patients to be escorted out of the hospital by wheelrchair. Mom pushed Dad whose lap was full of gaudy stuffed toys from the gift shop. She spotted James as he maneouvered his chair through the lobby, almost bumping into a doctor. She rushed over to help him.

"Isn´t anyone coming to pick you up?" she asked. James had spoken a lot about his family, he must have a lot of brothers, all rough, tough guys with hearts of gold. That not one of them had time to pick him up...

He put a sad little smile on his face when Mindy asked about his family. As if the Rogues were going to pick him up...as they were still in prison, it was very unlikely. She wanted to take him home.

He decided that he liked her a lot.

Catching a cab to his apartment had turned into an offer for coffee, had turned into invitation for dinner, had turned into dinner at a fine restaurant... until it had turned into 8 months of relationship.

James wasn´t surprised that Mindy found out eventually - she was bright and he loved her for that - but he was still a hell of a conman and very good at enhancing the truth. He never lied to her...not really, anyway.

"So...," she had said, staring him straight into the eye, brows furrowing and making that little v-shape on her nose that he adored, "you´re a supervillan."

"Yes, honeybunny."

"Don´t call me that, I´m very cross with you now."

"Of course, ma´m."

"Why didn´t you tell me?"

He never lied. "Because I was afraid...afraid you´d leave me, afraid you´d hate me, afraid you disapproved, afraid you approved, afraid someone kight connect you to me, afraid you could get hurt. I wanted to protect you, selfishly and altruistically. I don´t want to hurt you, so I ...never said."

She bopped him on the nose. "You silly idiot. I still love you, you big dork. You´d have to do better than those pants to get rid off me."

She grinned and oh - she was good!  
8 months turned into 2 years. She thought about moving together, about getting engaged. Maybe she´d become Mrs Mindy Jesse...but

The bit "but" in her way was James, or rather James´ immaturity.

She loved him for his youthfulness, his freshness, his impulsiveness, his jokes and tricks, but she couldn´t stay with Peter Pan forever.

And James seemed unable to grow up.

Then she got a job offer from California and she knew that this was one of the chances you only get once.

She thought about declining, staying in Kansas with James.

She thought about accepting, about taking James with her.

She turned the options around in her head, ask him, don´t ask, tell him, leave, stay, same old, change, her lover, her life...

In her heart she knew.

The Trickster would never leave Keystone, not for her. And without Trickster, there was no James. And she wanted to be with James, not the Trickster. But that was impossible.

But she had to try, had to tell him, and so she did.

James looked at her, love in his gaze. But also that strange blank look, half as if he didn´t comprehend, half as he didn´t want or need to.

"I´m love you, but ... don´t you understand? I-"

"I get it, big opportunity. I´m the silly klutz whom you drag after you and whom you must leave behind to be yourself. You love me, but you can´t be with me forever, you must find your own life and I can´t play the same role in it anymore. I get it, I´m too brash, too silly...I fight a superhero with rubber chicken, I get it." He smiled that enigmatic smile she could never figure out. He frightened her. Something must have hit home...hard.

"Honeybunny...Mindy," he clasped her hand in his, "go. Don´t throw away that chance for the guy who watches saturday morning cartoons in crocodile boxers. You deserve better."

She cried. "How is this so easy for you?"

He cocked his head, and that look of not-comprehending was back. He was mildly intrigued, but didn´t consider the concept behind her motives relevant enough. It was that childish way of accepting, of leaving an old toy behind.

She left the apartment after a warm hug and she promised to stay in touch. He had smiled and waved goodbye from his window as she got into the cab. Afterwards, he broke into tears and curled into a ball on the floor.

He understood, he understood only too well. He had been in her shoes, and he, too, had chosen to live his own life. How could he deny her that? He knew that she would have stayed if he had asked, but he had to face reality - she was throwing away a career, her dream job, a fresh start and a new city for a supervillain who was a laughing stock in his own business and whose future was filled with the same tricks, the same jokes, the same game and the older he got, the higher the chances of him getting hurt or killed in the job rose. He couldn´t do that to her, so he let her go.  
As she had settled into her new life, had bought a house, had become wealthy and had made friends, after she had gotten over James and had found someone...she discovered that she was pregnant.

It couldn´t be... James couldn´t be the father. Although...she calculated in her head - and she was good with numbers - it wasn´t exactly impossible. A 50:50 chance that he was the father, well maybe 60:40...oh, who was she kidding?

Of course he was the father.

She picked the phone up 20 times a day and put it down 20 times again. Everyday she started a letter, then crumpled it into a ball and threw it away. Everyday she walked by the travel bureau and thought about purchasing a ticket back to Keystone...and every day she walked by.

Raising a kid? That she could do? Raising a kid with a supervillain in the house? She thought back to his explanation when she had figured out his secret identity. She had to protect her baby...their baby.

William James Hong was the most beautiful baby she had ever seen. Her family surrounded her in the hospital, each claiming that little Billy had his/her eyes, nose and cheeks. She looked at her son. He didn´t look like James at all...except for that bright smile he directed at her.

On that day, a god was born. He would command angels and banish demons.

No kings made their way across continents to greet him, his presents consisted of baby clothes, diapers, a truck full of formula and a pink bonnet - her mother had been so sure she´d get a granddaughter - and not gold, nor francincense, nor myrrh. And still, angels watched over him.

His mom never told him who his father was. Even as a little child he knew that she didn´t want to talk about it. And as a child does, he imagined. His father was an astronaut who was on the moon, his father was driving a race car, his father was Elvis, his father was a top secret agent, he was a spy better than James Bond, he was a superhero who had to leave his family to protect them. He never knew how close he was to the truth until one day, he was kidnapped by a cult and then rescued by a very strange group of people. But that was okay, he was the messiah, he commanded angels, he was strange, too.

His father was a tall, blond guy who wore ugly pants and who was awesome.

He had come through ice and snow, had tricked a cult, his friends and then the devil, just to save Billy.

Billy thought that he´d look like his father, at least a bit, but he had grandpa´s chin, grandma´s ears, uncle Bobby´s toes, Mom´s eyes...and his father´s bright dazzling smile.

He watched as his father embraced Mom tenderly. He still loved her. But he didn´t think they´d need him. As a child, Billy had had those fantasies, of his wonderful dad coming home, of being a family like in the tv, of white picket fences, green grass, blue sky, applie pie...but he was older now, had long abandoned those childish dreams. He knew his family would never be like that... but apparently he had a supervillain/hero in the family, so who needed normal anyway?  
His father came to talk to him, fidgeted with his jacket, not knowing what to say.

But Billy knew.

"I´m not asking you to move in with us, or to stop being the Trickster. You don´t have to be a role model dad who showers me with gifts and smothers me with attention. But when you´re in town and you want to catch a movie, watch a ball game or anything...I guess that´s alright."

His father smiled a very puzzling smile and Billy couldn´t decipher this one...he should have been able to, he could see but his father remained elusive.

"Your mother was right, you are more mature than me." He wrapped Billy in an embrace.

"I´m new at this father-stuff...I didn´t even know you existed since 10 minutes ago, so cut me some slack: if you ever, ever need help, call me. If you someone who needs to get taken down a peg, call me. If ...you want to talk, just call me."  
He grinned. "If you need a forged signature on a report card, call me. If you want a fake id ...well, I´ll tell your mom if you call me for that."

He stared right into Billy´s eyes and there was something in his gaze that Billy recognized as love and then something that was mysterious and alien to him.

"Watch out for your mom for me, okay? And if you´re ever in town, you know, want to watch a game or something, just drop by. I guess you´ll find me."

He straightened. "I gues I won´t be a dad without this," he said and ruffled Billy´s hair.

 

She hugged her son and never wanted to let go. In the corner of her eyes she saw James, balancing on his heels, hands in his jacket. "Thank you," she said, and put all her love and warmth for him in those two words.

He understood and smiled back. "You´re an awesome mom, honeybunny."

No miraculous birth, no kings, no gospels, no gold, no francincense, no myrrh... but angels watching over him.

And now, a little Trickster joined them.


	35. Merchandise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adding cartoon figures to anything is a sure way to make James want it

"Come on, Piper, let´s try it!"  
"Why would I want to buy an overpriced drink just because it has a cartoon figure on it?"  
"Because it´s the Pink Panther, he´s a classic! The cartoon was awesome and the movies - do you know that the movies were supposed to be about the panther burglar instead of Inspector Clouseau? That dude was classy! And they have a drink with his picture on it, it has to be good!"  
Piper´s defenses were already worn down due to exposure too much stress at the shelter, then the business with organizing the charity event - it had been a bad day - and then James had manhandled him into spending his lunch break with him, he had been dragged into an arcade because it had classical Tetris and then James had spotted bottles of pink fluid. And since the label had a pink panther on it, of course he wanted some.  
James looked at him with those big blue eyes and - Piper´s will crumbled. It was hard to resist James when you were mad at him and rightfully so, but resisting when he was trying to cheer you up in his special way (it was so well-intended, just perhaps a bit misguided) was impossible.  
He gave in and bought two bottles of the drink. He guessed that the price had included James´ smile and was therefore justified.  
They opened the bottles, took a sip and  
"Bah! What´s...it´s disgusting!"  
"Ewwwww...my mouth tastes like panther! Gross!"  
They looked at each other.  
"Awful!"  
"Pink Panther, you have steered me wrong!" James exclaimed, "I´m never buying anything with you on it again!"  
He looked like he wanted to throw his bottle in a trash can before he turned around and asked Piper for his.  
"What are you going to do with it?" Piper asked suspicious.  
James grinned. "I just came up with plans for a new gum gun. People actually chewed their way out when I hit them with the last one - they should try it with this once I have adapted the flavor of this horrible drink!"  
"I´m glad you found some use for it," Piper said.  
They started to walk back to the shelter.  
"Sorry for taking away your break," James said somewhat subdued, "you looked like you needed it. And you didn´t even get any lunch. Sorry, sometimes I´m just so..."  
Piper threw his arm around James´ shoulder.  
"Don´t mention it, buddy. It was fun...until that drink, but that´s not your fault."  
"You sure?"  
"I´m sure," Piper replied, "besides, you can make it up to me. Dinner? Your place?"  
James smiled and put his arms around Piper´s middle.  
"You´re the best!"

Dinner with James included Cheerios, jam sandwiches with skittles and a carbonated drink with a blue anteater on it, but it was rather delicious and just what he had needed after a stressful day.


	36. Blind Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam sets Piper up on a blind date. Of course it fails.

Fine, he admitted it, sometimes he could ba a bit of a drama queen. He likes soliloquies, passionate speeches and grand gestures, but he was a supervillain, it was almost a job requirement.  
Nevertheless, he was afraid that he may have overshot his goals with his last speech.  
He just wanted his friends to accept him for who he was - he did it for them  
Icy bastard - fine.  
Arrogant snob - fine.  
Immature prankster - fine.  
Gay criminal - unthinkable?  
He gave them a piece of his mind, and every person in sensitivity training would have blushed at that one.  
Since then his friends made sure to tell him that they accepted him in their own way.  
They still told him he was a wuss for not drinking (that much), chided him for not cheating at poker and called him a crazy socialist Robin Hood wannabe, but they had layed off the gay jokes.  
They made an effort to be nice. And then they noticed that he actually didn´t have a relationship at the moment and decided to fix it.  
Mark dragged him to a bar and introduced him to a guy he knew whom he suspected of being gay. That man did have gorgeous eyelashes, wore a pink shirt and had had a manicure, but he was as sraight as they come. They still had a nice evening talking about Madonna.  
Digger was decidedly less subtle about setting him up for a date. He more or less pushed Piper in the direction of guys he thought to be gay and yelled "Go for it!"  
And Sam had set him up for a blind date. The idea was nice, the intention was good, but still - he felt as if he had stumbled into a bad movie.  
He sat in a restaurant, wearing a green suit (there was nothing wrong with green and it being the only color of his wardrobe) and had placed the evening edition of the Central City Courier in front of him on the table.  
He knew nothing about his date except that he was "kinda weird, but not in the bad way, you know? Weird like Len gets in the summer or weird like Mark when there´s a thunderstorm going on, but nice-weird. I know him through my girl, Martha, her fourth cousin twice removed or something. She said George´s nice." Unfortunately, that description had lacked any details about his physical appearance. Or anything beyond that.  
"Excuse me, but...I usually don´t do this, this is awkward, are you Piper?"  
He looked up and felt the urge to hit his head on the table or strangle Sam.  
George was apparently short for Georgina.  
And apparently, Sam´s description of him hadn´t given Martha any clues on his gender either. Both looked a little disappointed.

Being a supervillain, Piper´s mind automatically went to "Revenge!" and he thought about making Sam dance the can-can during the next heist accidentaly, but he looked at George and changed his plans.  
He smiled. "Let´s not waste this evening. We´ll send the check to our dear matchmaker."  
George sat down and grinned. She resembled an imp. "I´ve always wanted to try lobster," she said and took hold of the menu card.  
"George, I think this will be a wonderful evening."

They toasted to each other with two bottles of 300$ champagne.  
Indeed, it was a lovely date, even if it wasn´t a date at all.


	37. Mad World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Piper's convinced that it's not him who is mad, it's the world.

The world has gone mad.  
At some point, their lives have shattered, into shards and ragged edges.  
The sun, shining brilliantly in the sky, warming bodies and hearts has become dim and shadows creep closer everyday.  
Death has come into their world, taking one of them, then another and then all. Madness stakes her claim and grips them tightly.  
Malice spews into their minds and one day, they raise their weapons, thinking about killing. Thinking about how to hurt others, how to cause pain. The last remnant of a golden age, the rules, the lines to guide them get broken one after another. No drugs. No women or children. Never kill a speedster. Once a Rogue, always a Rogue.

And yet the madness goes on, and each day the world gets more bizarre, more alien to them. The air is ripe with hostility and violence. The game has changed, the innocence has been lost.

Piper sits inside his cell in the psych ward and dreams of a better world, when they were Robin Hood´s Merry Men, when no one shot to kill, when prisons had revolving doors, when they didn´t aim for money, but the thrill, the rush, when they felt alive. Their past is gone, taking with it the laughter, the smiles, the bright, silly costumes, their innocence and their golden age.

They tell Piper that he has gone crazy, but Piper knows better.

It´s not him who is crazy, the world is.


	38. You know where to find me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James helps Wally...in his own, special, unhelpful way

The Trickster was one of the most infuriating persons he had ever met, and since he dealt with supervillains on a regular basis, that was saying something. Not that the Trickster wasn´t a supervillain, too, but he was supposed to have reformed. He was supposed to be one of the good guys now, but everyone knew that the Trickster never had been truly evil and that he´d never be ever truly good.  
The guy just oozed smugness like a very obnoxious perfume. His grin was positively sharp, like you could cut yourself. That guy meant danger.  
And right now, Wally stared at the guy, lounging in a big leather chair that definetely belonged into an office in downtown and not in a flat that looked like someone had taken a fancy apartment and had blown a circus tent up in it. He looked like the cat that ate the canary, and then its canary friends, family and afterwards had successfully blamed it on someone else.  
"For the last time, Trickster," Wally forced the word out between gritted teeth, "tell me where the meeting is."  
Word on the street (aka Piper) had heard something about a big time mob meeting taking place in Central City but he had been unable to get any more intel. But he had heard that the Trickster knew something. Well, the Trickster probably knew something, but maybe that was show. He always pretended that he knew everything, but Wally guessed that at least 60% were smoke, mirrors and a big grin. Maybe he had hit a dead end, maybe the Trickster didn´t know anything, and maybe he was just screwing with Wally.  
"What´s the magic word?" the Trickster said in an annoying sing-song voice. Wally sighed. He was running out of time and he just had no patience now. He curled his fists.  
"Please," he said.  
"Wrong, Twinkletoes," the Trickster said and folded his hands behind his head. The blond hair, shark-grin and something about the eyes reminded Wally uncomfortably of his recent meeting with Neron.  
"What? Trickster, I don´t have time, this is big and if you´re just going to stand in my way-"  
"Flashypants, just listen: the magic word is," he paused as if he were waiting for a drumroll and then rolled his eyes," ´abrakadabra´you idiot."  
"What? I don´t-"  
The Trickster unfolded his hands and pointed at Wally accusingly. "Are you always this dense or is it just me that brings out the best in you?" Abra Kadabraaaaa, simsalabim. Hocus Pocus, hex hex. Abraaaaaaa Kadabraaaaaaaaaa," he said, putting strange emphasis on the words.  
It clicked.  
"Abra Kadabra!" Wally echoed.  
"Finally!" The Trickster sagged in his chair. "Now, be a good superhero, follow the lead, take out the bad boys and get the mob outta my city."  
"How do I know you´re not screwing with me?" Wally asked. Suspicion was always a very healthy thing to have around the Trickster.  
"You don´t," the Trickster said, "but in case I was screwing with you, you know where to find me." The Trickster grinned at him and Wally left.


	39. Sucky Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes, your day sucks. But you have friends to help you out. Pity that you're Piper and said friend is James

Sometimes, the darkness is overwhelming and seemingly endless.  
Sometimes, the day just gets worse and worse.  
Sometimes, you just should have stayed in bed.

On one day, Piper should not only have stayed in bed, he should have slept for the whole week to avoid this day.  
It starts that his alarm clock doesn´t ring. And because of that, he´s late, he grabs the nearest clothes, splashes water in his face, burns his tongue on the sorry excuse of coffee he buys on his way to the shelter and just as he rushes through the doors, notices that he left his keys at home and is effectively locked out. Also, he has not brought a jacket which he sincerely regrets as rain starts to fall outside. He hopes that it will have stopped when he finishes with work, but the little pessimistic streak in him knows otherwise.  
Work is a complete disaster; despite working overtime yesterday, nothing is functioning. Meetings get mixed up, files are missing, the wrong people are at the wrong place in the wrong time, his colleague Jenny has broken her arm and soon all goes to hell. It´s way past noon when he realizes that neither has he had a lunchbreak nor breakfast. Piper wants to sneak out, just for five minutes to buy himself a sandwich from the vendor across the street, but the cases keep piling on him, one person after the other shows up, everyone needs something and he decides to stay anyway. Work is still a catastrophe, misunderstanding upon misunderstanding, mix-ups upon mix-ups and too many people want too much in too short a time.  
His grumbling stomach is joined by a headache.  
Finally, after working for 16 hours, he leaves the shelter, weary, tired, hungry. As soon as he steps outside, he is also drenched and cold.  
And he is still locked out.  
Thunder roars in the distance and Piper wants nothing more to shake his fist angrily at the clouds and curse Mark. That bastard actually likes thunderstorms and Piper is willing to bet that he is at least partially responsible for this one.  
He goes to the bus stop and waits too long for a bus that breaks down after driving about 25 feet. He gets out and waits for the next, only to catch the wrong one and end up in an unfamiliar neighborhood. Now he is cold, hungry, wet, tired, angry and lost.  
Right now, returning to supervillainy seems so tempting. Just one tune and he could get someone to give him his car and/or money. He would buy decent clothes, aspirin and treat himself to a fine dinner. And then he could rob a bank and go on holiday in the Caribbean.  
Sometimes, it really sucks to have gained a conscience.

As he unsuccessfully tries to hail a cab, someone bumps into him and almost knocks him over. The man puts a steadying hand on Piper´s arm.  
"You okay?" the man asks pantingly.  
"No," Piper wants to answer, but just mumbles "I´m fine,". Then he looks up. The face is unfamiliar, the hair is all wrong, but that voice.  
"James?" he asks unbelievingly.  
"Wha...oh shit, Piper! Nice to see you, but can you do me a favor? When I say ´run´...RUN!" and he sprints down the street. Piper can hear an angry mob just coming around the corner and decides to join James.  
Just when he thought that his day couldn´t get any worse...

He has followed James into an alley, and subsequently a dead end. Just great.  
"Up here," James whispers and crouches on a fire escape that is too high for Piper to reach. What an inconsiderable idiot!  
Piper hears the mob gaining - just what has James done this time - and decides that he has had enough. Just because he is on the side of the angels no doesn´t mean that he has stopped tinkering. Time to put his newest gadget to the test. It may look like an ordinary cell phone, but it is anything but. He presses a few buttons and the screen glows green. As the angry mobs turns around the corner, Piper presses the last button and the phone emits sounds on such a frequency that no human but him can actually hear them. Nevertheless, the subconscious still registers them.  
"This is not the man you´re looking for," he tells the crowd of men in black suits. Their angry expressions are replaced with blankness.  
"That ain´t the guy we´re looking for," they say in unison.  
"You want to go home and rethink your life," Piper tells them.  
"We want to go home and rethink our lives," they reply and leave. Piper looks up to James who also has a blank look on his face and has also started to walk home....on thin air. Huh...he needs to improve his aim with this device, or work on the range.  
"James!" he calls sharply and the trance ends.  
"Bwuh," James asks, scratching his head, "what the hell happened?"  
"How about you tell me?" Piper asks.  
"Yeah, sure," James replies. He touches down on the ground and throws an arm around Piper´s shoulder. "Long time no see, buddy," he says jovially and steers Piper out of the alley. He hails for a cab and in less then five seconds one stops right in front of them. Lucky bastard.  
James tells the driver the address and in a few minutes filled with silence they reach the place. James looks like he wants to talk, but talking in a cab about possible mind control and pursuit by an angry mob isn´t the best idea.  
They get up, James pays and then leads Piper to his apartment. This must be the third, no fourth, apartment James owns, or at least the fourth Piper knows about. As all the others, it looks like a circus crashed in here. A model train runs through the entire place and even up the walls and the ceiling. Stuffed animals everywhere, toys cluttering every surface and here and there shirts and other articles of clothing carelessly thrown around.  
Piper knows that James has one alibi apartment, one that is tastefully furnished, clean, uncluttered and looks like it came out of a magazine. Well, except for the pictures on the wall and some stray traces of his presence - candy bags, jacks, yoyos - that always accompany James wherever he goes. This is clearly not it and James offers Piper a seat on a giant yellow teddy bear. Piper rolls his eyes, but after this day, he is glad for small comforts, no matter how ridiculous they may be. James putters around in the kitchen and soon Piper smells tea. James returns with a tray loaded with a teapot, cups and a heap of sweets. He pours tea for Piper and Piper accepts the cup. Heaven in blue porcelain. He sips and feels the day melt away. Since he hasn´t eaten anything all day, he munches on the candy.  
"So, what did you do?" he asks James who is busy braiding twizzlers.  
"Me? Nothing....except maybe spoiling a little mob business, calling the cops and running away with a suitcase full of 20 grand. Well, just that I grabbed the wrong suitcase, and I had an armful of drugs and the mobsters in pursuit didn´t take kindly to me dumping the stuff in the sewers."  
"And what´s with the -" Piper gestures to the wig and fake nose and chin.  
"Just a precaution," James says, "after last time I have to be careful." He tugs on his disguise and soon his blond mop of hair emerges as well as his cheeky smile.  
"Do I even want to know what happened last time?"  
"You can read it in the papers: the museum robbery where all pieces were returned the next day? That was me. But enough about old me, what have you been up to?"  
Piper ponders whether he should tell James - who apparently targets criminals now - about his sucky day, about his everyday troubles and mundane activities.  
"Not much," he says and takes another sip.  
"Come on, Piper, spill it. I see it, you want to tell me something. You want to rant, you want to shake your first and curse someone and you´re secretly wishing you were still a villain."  
"Just how do you know me that well?"  
"It´s a gift," James replies with a smirk.  
Piper sighs and then talks about his day, about how much it sucked, how had eaten nothing but James´ candy all day and just how good it had felt to pull out that phone and make all his troubles walk away.  
And afterwards, the whole day doesn´t seem so bad. Astonishing just how much tea, a little sympathy and candy can make the worst day seem small and insignificant.

James calls him a cab and they both say goodbye with the firm intention of seeing each other again soon.  
Piper arrives at home in front of a locked door. He calms himself down and then breaks the lock. That felt good. Time to repair the door, take a hot shower and then a nap after checking that his alarm works.  
James sits on his couch, wrapped in a soft blanket and smiles. His day really sucked before Piper showed up.


	40. Fallen Star

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neron and James are too alike

A falling star has something mystical about it.  
Where does it come from? Where will it land?  
Why did it fall? And why do we make wishes when it happens?

Once upon a time, the brightest of all stars fell.  
Where did it come from? Heaven.  
Where did it land? Hell.  
Why did it fall? Rebellion.  
What are we wishing for? May God have mercy on our souls.

James doesn´t like falling. He has no problem with heights, on the contrary, he loves being up high, being so close that he could touch the sky, but as soon as he thinks about falling, he panicks.  
Something inside of him cringes in fear and memory of what happens when he will fall. In his subconscious, there are burning flames, endless cold and the feeling of fear. There is something in his blood that screams in terror, something that desperately wants to stay up high, something that doesn´t want to fall. In his dreams, he is falling and screaming with pain he never felt, he dreams of a great fall that never happened to him and of crashing and pain and hurt and betrayal. He never wants to fall.  
So, he builds impossible shoes that liberate him from gravity itself, that bend the laws of physic to his will and that set him free.

The Trickster soars in the sky, never afraid of falling again, while deep down in Hell, a fallen star dreams of crashing, of falling, of hurt, betrayal and fire. The Devil yearns to rise again and to never fall.  
And the little Trickster lives that dream.


	41. Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rogues and sleeping arrangements

In their post-heist rush of triumph, tingling ecstasy and joy at finally having won once, the Rogues neglected a lot of important things.

They forgot to lay low and let things cool over; instead they rented a suite at the Ritz and had a party.  
They forgot to clear their heads; instead they got really drunk.  
And then they forgot that even a suite wasn´t made for ten people, and especially when you put Roscoe and Len in the same room.  
And when exhaustion took over, they discovered that sleeping arrangements were kind of tough.

Digger had claimed the king sized bed. Not that there wasn´t plenty of space left, but the sheets smelled strangely of beer and looked damp, so no one of the Rogues wanted to claim the bed.  
Len insisted on Lisa having the bed in the other bedroom and threatened anyone (especially Roscoe) who dared to come to close to her.  
The couch was occupied by Mark, the armchair by Mick and the chaisloungue by Roy.  
James had flopped down on the tiger rug decorating the floor and was sound asleep.  
Before Lisa´s door, Len sat down with a spare blanket from the closet and the gun in his hands. He was too drunk to think rationally or even aim straight, but he still posed a grumpy, irritated threat to anyone who wanted to enter that room (especially Roscoe). Roscoe had grumbled something about dignity and refused to share quarters with an inebriated bunc of fools and left the suite, only to break into the room next door and visit Lisa through the adjoining balcony.  
Sam had declared the bathroom to his territory and snored contentedly in the bathtub.  
Piper felt very uncomfortable as he made a makeshift bed out of chairs, spare blankets and towels. It was very tricky to get it to hold together and as he suspected, it felt awful. He tossed and turned, goraned as this or that edge poked him and unsuccessfully willed himself to sleep.  
"Piper, goddamn it! You´ve made your bed, now lay in it, shut up and get some sleep!" Len said at about 4:30 am.  
Piper sighed and turned around again.  
He´d been in prison cells that had more comfortable cots.  
As sleep finally took him, he dreamed of fluffy clouds, flying four-posters and a sea of pillows.


	42. Pay attention to me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James says the most ridiculous things to get attention.

James sometimes reminded Piper of an excited puppy who demanded affection, candy and who loved to be petted. He thought it cute and only too often indulged James, but he was in a very delicate part of assembling his sonic gun and couldn´t afford any distractions.  
His eyes remained on the machinery before him and no bouncing around of James made him look up.  
After learning last time that physically jostling Piper when he was working on gadgets was a very, very dangerous thing, James refrained from poking him and simply relied on his voice.  
"Piper. Piper! Piiiiiiper! Listen to me, come on! Piper! Don´t be like that, I have something cool to show you, it´s an awesome surprise! Look at me! Piper, please!"  
Piper didn´t look up or even acknowledged James´ presence.  
"Piper, look, a blue elephant!  
An orange mouse!  
A ...purple weasel?  
Um...Piper, a ghost! Wooooo!  
The Yeti!  
Aliens having sex in my shower?  
Pirates in the bathtub!  
My toothpaste is made out of gold!  
Piiiiiiiiper," he whined.

Piper could see him, hands on hips, pout on his face, eyes like a kicked puppy.  
"Piiiiiiiiper," James repeated and the lost little sound tugged on his heartstrings, but he knew that James was only doing that because he wanted attention. He was almost finished with the gun. He soldered the last two pieces together and turned around with a triumphant grin on his face.  
His jaw dropped.  
In his room, there was a blue little elephant, a big orange mouse, a purple weasel, a ghost, a yeti, and an "Arrrr!" coming from the bathroom.


	43. Gifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anniversaries with James are weird

"Happy Anniversary!" James said softly and kissed Piper´s forehead. Piper sat up on the bed, rubbed his eyes sleepily and smiled.  
He wound his arms around James´ neck and kissed him sweetly on the mouth.  
"Happy Anniversary," he replied and pulled James onto the bed with him.

James produced a box from behind his back and presented it to Piper. It was giftwrapped and someone had kissed while wearing a lot of lipstick. Piper immediately looked to James´ lips for evidence. His lips were free from any traces, but when he smiled there were stains on his teeth. Stupid, adorable James.  
"Your gift is in the closet," Piper said and made motions to get up when James stopped him with a hand around his wrist.  
"It´s okay, open yours first," he said smilingly, revealing pink smudges on his teeth and Piper grinned.  
He settled on the bed, leaned into James and carefully unwrapped his gift. He opened the box and his jaw dropped.  
Piper held up a pink rat that was decorated with little hearts.  
Perhaps the worst thing was that it was a live rat...precisely, it was one of his own, it was Cecil. He peered into the box to see another rat - Cordelia - who was white and decorated with little pink hearts.

Questions raced through his mind ("How did you do that? Why did you do that? Where did you get hold of my rats? Are those candy hearts?") but nothing came out of his mouth.  
"And, do you like them?" James asked.

Piper wondered just how he had fallen in love with this silly, crazy man


	44. Denial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Denial is a powerful thing

When you place an object in front of a baby and then hide it where they can´t see, the baby will truly believe that the object has never existed.  
When a little kid wants something to go away, it places its hands over his eyes and reasons that if it can´t see the thing, the thing is unable to perceive it, too.  
When we grow up, we know better and then we invent denial.

Denial is wonderful.

There´s no way I messed up the job interview.  
Of course I aced that test.  
No way is she thinking about leaving.  
Of course I love him, right?

Piper sits in an alley and looks at his wrist. The cufflink is gone, along with the chain and with the hand and with James. It´s like it has never existed, as if they hadn´t been on the run together, as if they were never forced to flee together, as if they never hid on a train and if they never entered the desert.  
He closes his eyes, but he can´t make it go away. His memories remain: the permanent rustle of clothes, the chain dangling between them, James´ breathing. It had been there, always, whether he was sleeping or whether he was awake. And now it was gone.

He wishes that he wasn´t here.  
He wishes that all this never happened.  
He wishes that James wasn´t dead.

Maybe this is all a bad dream, maybe it´s a hallucination produced by Ivy´s plants - maybe he´ll come to his senses in the firm grip of vines with James by his side. Or he will wake up in the hotel room with the mummy bodyguard, James raiding the mini-bar. Or he will jerk awake, the train rattling through the desert, James at his side making stupid jokes that don´t cheer anyone up.

And maybe the moon is made of cheese and unicorns are real.

The reality is cruel and sharp, cutting into him.

But maybe, he doesn´t have stay...

Denial is wonderful, and his stay at the asylum wasn´t so bad after all...


	45. Destiny

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Piper doesn't believe in a teleological universe

Piper had grown up with those old fairytales where true love´s kiss solved all problems, where prince charming got the princess and all lived happily ever after.  
Then came the movies where the main character always got his love interest.  
Then he met Wally and Linda and met a couple whose love transcended the afterlife, defeated evil and was literally a cosmic force.

And he was single, closer to 40 than 30 and was an ex-convict who worked at a homeless shelter. He wondered where his prince charming was, whether he had a soul mate who just waited for him, whether true love´s kiss would make it all better.

He returned home to his rats and sighed deeply. If he had a liking for cats instead of rats, he´d probably be known as the crazy cat man. He was pathetic.

The phone rang. It was James who asked if he was up for a game and pizza. Piper said yes. He wasn´t that much of a football fan, especially since Mark always insisted on ruining it by unleashing a thunder storm when Keystone played, and he didn´t really want to eat pizza, but he´d be with James. James, who was immature, bold and absolutely silly.  
He lounged on James´ incredibly fluffy couch, sipped beer from a can and yelled with James at the screen.  
Later, James broke out the chianti, they talked and Piper smiled.  
Maybe they weren´t lovers, maybe they weren´t eternally bound soulmates, maybe James wasn´t prince charming, but maybe that was okay.  
He´d make a terrible princess anyway.


	46. TLC

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Piper, hospital, and how James makes it bearable

He hates hospitals.  
He hates the sterile environment, he hates the cold light, he has come to hate white coats and patronising smiles. He is reminded of the operations, of unbearable pain and long, lonely stays in wards without any friends.

He knows that it´s irrational, he knows that the doctors and nurses try their best to help people, but he can´t exstinguish the feeling of dread and anger whenever he has to enter a hospital. In his line of work, it´s impossible to avoid them. Bruises and black eyes are not big matter, they treat those at home. But when it comes to broken bones and worse, they have no choice.

He´s lying there with a broken leg. It doesn´t really hurt, it´s more annoying than really bothersome. The Rogues had stayed until the end of visitation hours and had left him with a fruit basket, a silly balloon from the gift shop and a few magazines he had hidden quickly under his pillow. The gesture had been nice, but sadly those were the wrong kind of magazines. He hadn´t corrected them, he could think of better ways of coming out than in a hospital and on morphine.

Now it was night, he is bored and full of tension. He can´t sleep.  
Someone knocks, but not on the door but on the window.  
James waves at him and then opens the window.  
"Hi Piper," James whispers. He enters the room and carefully closes the window again. He walks over to Piper´s bed and grins.  
"What are you doing here?" Piper whispers back.  
"The worst things about hospitals is being alone, isn´t it?" James replies, "now scoot over."  
Piper wriggles to the right and James lays down on the covers. He unzips his jacket and passes Piper a box. It contains Belgian chocolate.  
Piper sighs happily. James stays with him until dawn, talking about everything and nothing, eating most of the chocolate himself and making Piper smile.  
Piper forgets his broken leg, he forgets that he is in hospital, he only thinks about funny stories, the taste of chocolate and the warmth of James against his side.


	47. Nudity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James and fashion don't mix

Piper looked into the mirror. He was wearing a red shirt and white jeans. The red clashed horribly with his hair and the jeans....well, they weren´t that bad. He changed back to his regular clothes and exited the booth. Music floated softly through the clothing store. He put the shirt back and browsed around for another one.  
He spotted James, with his arms full of clothes of all kinds, all in bright colors. Sometimes, Piper wondered if Roy wasn´t the only one who was colorblind. He wasn´t sure if James didn´t care that the colors clashed, if he even noticed it or if he was fully aware of his countless fashion-faux pas and just did it to piss people off. With him, all options were possible.  
"Hey, Piper, look what I found!" Triumphantly he held a coat up. It was...red, and then plaid, pink, yellow, green, blue, even more red and "Where the hell did you find this? This is ...oh, you´re not thinking of buying that, are you?"  
James grinned.  
"Oh god, you are. You can´t be serious - compared to that, your usual get-up is tasteful and tame. That...does nothing to convince you to leave the coat."  
"Nope," James said, pushed the rest of his clothes into Piper´s arms and put the coat on over his yellow Looney Toons shirt and pants with a blue wave pattern. If there had been a god of decency or fashion, he or she would have struck James with lightning.  
Instead, James´ grin only got wider.  
"When it gets cold, I can wear this over my costume instead of the cape!"

After they had paid for their clothes (with fake credit cards made out to Peter Donovan and Theodor Richard Starfield) and walked to the car, Piper said to James: "I admit that my fashion choices haven´t always been the best, but after the 90s I considerably improved. I didn´t think it was possible, but you have actually gotten worse. Is it because you´re a supervillain that you have to commit crimes against fashion?"  
"No, because I enjoy it."  
They stashed the bags into the trunk.  
"James, I like you so much better when you´re naked."


	48. Umm...it's not mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Rogues find a baby
> 
> (inspired by the dark cat and her awesome work)

The Rogues were having a nice day.  
Beautiful weather for a picnic. Beautiful picnic for the annual Villains picnic. Usually, they didn´t socialise with the big guns very much.  
Grodd with his "apes take over the planet"-agenda was getting on their nerves, the Joker just terrified them and Lex Luthor was a bald bastard who wanted world domination and just couldn´t understand that they didn´t want to rule the world, that was hard work! The rest of the supervillains were ...well, about half of them were okay guys. At least the ones that weren´t total nutjobs or homicidal.  
The Riddler was okay, but his jokes sucked. Catwoman...oh, gorgeous, smart and every Rogues couldn´t help but to admit that she was very, very attractive. The rest of Batman´s foes - geez. It was like Halloween 24/7.  
At least the booze was free...which was the main reason for why they came every year. But contrary to the rest of the supervillains, they always left before it ran out.

They were playing basketball, only occassionally cheating and having a very good time. Until they decided to have a break and something black wobbled over to them. It latched onto James´ foot and giggled happily.  
It wss a baby, clad in a black onesie and it wore a very familiar mask.  
"Um...it´s not mine," James said sheepishly.  
"We have to get it back! Oh god, they´ll think that we stole a baby! The´ll think that we stole Batman´s baby. Oh god, oh god, oh god!"  
"Piper, stop freaking out! Guys, huddle around James to give him cover. And now, I´m open for ideas."  
As the Rogues had settled into a brightly colored, slightly inebriated pile on the ground with the baby as the center, they tried to brainstorm.  
"We could leave it and run?" Mark suggested.  
"And leave a baby - a hero baby - in the middle of drunken supervillains. Can´t see that going wrong...Sam, hit Mark for me," Len commanded.  
"Ouch!"  
"We return him?" Sam said tentiatvely.  
"´Oh hello Batman, we found your baby on the supervillain side where it was subjected to unmentionable danger and exposed to about every evil under the sun´. Roscoe, hit Sam."  
"Ouch! I was trying to be helpful!"  
"Well, you suck at it. Better ideas?"  
The baby gurgled and wobbled on unsteady little legs over to Len and latched onto his fur gloves.  
"We are so screwed."  
"Yep."  
"Len, why don´t you make an ice slide, and we´ll just push the baby towards to hero side and blame Mr Freeze for it?"  
"The best plan we´ve had yet."  
"It´s still dangerous and ludicrious."  
"I don´t see you coming up with anything better, Piper."  
They sat in silence.  
"How about we wait until the booze runs out and the annual charge at the heroes begins, we join in and in the chaos we slip the baby back and pretend we never had it?"  
"Piper, hit Mick."  
"Mark conjures up some fierce fog and we sneak over under the cover of it and put the baby back?"  
"Well, that could work. But to be on the safe side, the rest of us are going to cause a big distraction and when we have all the attention, Mark sneaks over."  
"Alright, let´s do this."  
Len passed the baby over to Mark who cradled it against his chest and made cooing noises. "Who´s a pretty baby? You´re a pretty baby. Isn´t she cute? Are you sure we can´t keep her?"  
This time, Len hit him himself.

"Alright, one distraction coming up. Hey Grodd! Ape supremacy is bullshit! Want a banana, monkeyface?"


	49. Cracks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Linda is a supervillain

The universe goes about its business.  
It´s destiny or chaos and both at the same time.  
The universe is a book of stories, of terrifying tales, fantastic fables, amazing adventures and legends of love. The story goes on and on, neverending because there is life and where there is life there is love and adventure and beauty and a new story waiting to be told.  
In this woven web of wondrous stories, sometimes rips open up, sometimes things that should not have moved slip through and sometimes, people fall through those cracks. Maybe they disappear forever and have never even existed, maybe they die, maybe they live on as lies and further corrupt other stories, distorting the truths, maybe they become cries of help.

And what every story needs is a hero, be he grand, be he noble, be he strong, swift, be he evil, be he a coward - a hero he is nontheless.

The Rogues had been fighting the Flash and his young sidekick, Kid Flash. After a long and hard battle, they had lost nontheless and were transported to Iron Heights.  
"He knocked us out cold!"  
"Tore through us like a tornado!"  
"He brought discord to my symphony of sinister sounds!"

Captain Cold, Heat Wave, Weather Wizard, Piep Piper, The Top, Mirror Master, Captain Boomerang, The Trickster and Rainbow Raider reflected upon their day in the police van when suddenly there was a commotion outside. The policemen yelled "Freeze!", then there was a bang and then there was utter silence.  
The back door of the van opened. The Rogues squinted as the sudden sunlight attacked their eyes.  
They looked at a costume-clad woman. She had black hair, wore a purple gown and a billowing cape.  
They had never seen here before, but then the universe, the web rippled and they grinned. Of course, they knew her, she was one of them, always had been...right?  
"You´re a sight for sore eyes!"  
"You´re a rainbow on a rainy day."  
"You certainly put a new spin on this day."  
Linda Park, known as Stopwatch, grinned cheekily. "What would you boys do without me, I wonder..."  
The Rogues got out of the van, shed their handcuffs and retreated back to their safehouse. Just as they opened the door, the time bubble in which the policemen had been sealed, burst. Weapons raised, mouths opened to shout and eyes trained on someone who wasn´t there anymore, the policemen soon realized with whom they had been dealing with.  
"How are we supposed to fight someone who manipulates time?" they asked themselves.

Stopwatch was a master planner and plotter and a superb strategist. She rarely got out on the field herself. She told her gang that was because she was above manual labor, the Rogues thought it was because she was a little girl afraid of doing the dirty work, but it was really because she didn´t have her powers under control. She didn´t really stop time, she bent it, twisted it, tied a loop and nudged it into a particular direction. And it only worked when the adrenaline flodded throough her system, when her heart beat painfully and when the silence became so loud it overpowered everything else. In those rare seconds, her instincts took over, simple thoughts "protect", "save", "run" were being projected into action and then the universe rippled. Not for long, not with great consequences, but it did. And in that specific timeframe, Stopwatch remembered a life that wasn´t hers....or maybe it was, it featured a loving husband, two wonderful kids, a big, for some odd reason very colorful family and then a great lightning flashed in her mind and Stopwatch was herself again.

"Hey there, girlfriend," Piper said and interrupted her reminiscing.  
"What can I do for you?"  
Piper looked somewhat sheepish, shuffling his feet. "Promise me you won´t tell the others. This is ...weird, and you know how they react to things they don´t understand."  
And because Linda knew exactly how the Rogues reacted to things like that (poking it with a stick and/or smashing it to bits), she nodded.  
"Okay, listen. I have exceptional hearing, phenomenal, even. I can hear frequencies that no one else can. And lately, I´ve been hearing....a call. Someone´s calling."  
"Oh dear," she said and placed her hand over his. She had been there to bust him out of the asylum after he had had his fit, courtesy of Professor Zoom, and she dreaded a repeat performance, "hearing voices, that´s...are you alright, Hartley?"  
"Linda, it´s not like that. I know what going crazy feels like and this isn´t it. Someone is calling, but not me: someone is calling you. It´s always `Linda, Linda, where are you? Come back, I love you`."  
Time rippled and she saw a cheeky grin and red hair, a pair of twinkling green eyes  
Linda.  
"Are you sure? That does sound weird."  
"I know, but it´s true. I think that someone is calling you on a frequency you sadly cannot hear, like someone playing a dogwhistle - you can´t hear that either, but it´s there nontheless." He took heir hand. "I wish you could hear it, too."  
Linda  
She turned pale. "I...I"  
Mommy  
Her heart pounded in her chest, she remembered the life that was and wasn´t hers, the husband she didnt´marry and the kids she never had. She pressed her hands to her ears.  
Linda

Time stopped and still, a golden lightning came from the sky. It struck the ground outside and in a flash, the Scarlet Speedster was at her side.  
"Linda!" he called, and then Stopwatch was no more. Linda Park-West threw her arms around her husband´s neck.  
"What happened? I..I don´t understand-"  
"It was Zoom. He tampered with the Cosmic Treadmill, he removed you from our timestream and stashed you in this one, thinking I would never find you."  
"But you did."  
Wally pulled back his cowl and looked her in the eye. Gently, he brought his hands up to her face and caressed it.  
"Of course I did. You are my light, my love - I will always find you."  
She drew him into a kiss, and then the world faded into a blur of light and then she was home, among her family. Still, she remembered the past that never was, the heists that never took place, the jewels she never stole and the magnificent friendships she never had. She retained a certain fondness for the Rogues, an affiliation to the color purple and she got herself a new watch, for old time´s sake.  
She never had had any superpowers, her time distortions were in fact tries of the web of stories to repair itself, to bring her back. And sometimes, she imagined a cloak on her shoulders, hair blowing in the breeze and an unexplained urge to cackle madly.


	50. Maths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> set in my Fixed -world, where the Rogues are happily married (mostly) and have a bunc of awesome kids

"And now, multiply your number by 5 and you have: 50!"  
The magician threw confetti in the air and made a gesture that should have been intricate and awe-inspiring, but looked rather like he had tied a knot into his fingers.  
The kids looked at the magician with big eyes, open mouths and unbelieving expressions.  
"Seriously, your dad got you a math-magician for your birthday party. Aunt Lisa is a world famous skater, why didn´t you get something cool for your birthday?"  
The twins had an equal set of pouts on their faces. "Dad wanted the magician, he said it would be cool."  
"At least we still have the bouncy castle," Billy said.  
Owen rolled his eyes. "What are you, 4?"  
Billy scowled. He blamed his affection for all springy, bouncy stuff on his Giuseppe DNA. And so what if they had a trampoline in their backyard, it was cool, no matter what Owen said. So his dad owned the biggest toy company of the east coast, so he did always have the latest and coolest toys...what did it matter? It wasn´t as if he was jealous or anything. Really.  
"And now, give me a mathematical excercise!" the magician demanded with a dramatic voice. "Anything, I will solve it, for I am Hugo the Amazing, Math-Magician of the First Order!"  
The kids sighed. They sneaked glances over at their parents who were sitting at the adults tables, eating cake, talking and laughing when Giovanni re-enacted an old heist. Everyone was there, even Dr Amar, grumpy Mr Desmond and Axel had dragged Tony Gambi there from Keystone. And they always had the best ideas for pranks!  
And now, they had to listen to the amazing Hugo.  
Great. Superb birthday activity, really.

Luckily, the kids knew how to deal with annoying adults and how to utilize their resources properly. All you need to get rid of the Amazing Hugo, was the son of a wizard and the resident redhead genius.  
Janet raised her hand. "I have an excercise for you," she said. She got up to the Amazing Hugo´s portable blackboard and began to write. With a little magic assistance, she wrote an unsolveable equation on the blackboard.  
"That´s easy, that´s 4....no, wait, it´s a....what? Pi? Pie? $ squared is a meaningless unit! You...you can´t divide by zero and ...did that number just move?"  
The kids quietly high-fived each other. As the Amazing Hugo stood in front of a blackboard, with an equation that kept on changing everytime he blinked, they retreated to the bouncy castle.  
In the end they had cake, candy and were all grounded for two weeks because they really should know by now not to listen to Tony and Axel when they had a "super fun" new idea.


	51. Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One of my many "James is Neron's son" stories

It´s in the blood. Blood dictates life, it holds power and an unique strength.  
It is magical and mystical and holds a strange fascination.  
The heart pumps it through the body, pumps life through the veins, it brings energy with every beat.  
And sometimes, there is more in the blood.  
In some family, traits are given from father to son, to daughter, from mother to son, to daughter. Sometimes, these traits are physical, the same shade of color in hair or eyes, the shape of the chin, the same hands.  
Sometimes, these traits are less tangible, in some veins flows bravery or cowardice, wit and wisdom, virtues and vices.  
And then, sometimes, there is more.

The Lord of Hell visits the earthly plain on a black midnight as the clock chimes 13 times. It´s the hour of spirits and ghosts, or horror stories and nightmares come alive.  
He is here for Misses Giuseppe. He crams himself into a mortal shell, he appears human for all intents and pruposes, but there is something in his eyes that screams that he is not human at all. Eyes can never lie and his speak proudly of his hellish home.  
The night is over too soon and he leaves.  
Mr Giuseppe will return to his wife in a few hours, having spent the night in someone else´s bed. His wife pretends not to notice while he pretends that it isn´t killing her from the inside.

It´s nine months later and a little boy is born. He is a tiny thing, fragile, so young and he has eyes that scare his mother to death.  
Eyes can never hide who you really are and his eyes sing that he is something special, that he is not normal.  
His mother can´t bear to look at him for long, he sees wisps of blond hair, she sees a sharp smile and she always sees the eyes that should not belong into a child´s face.  
She leaves with a man called Death who takes her away into a land far, far away.  
That is what his poppa tells little Giovanni. No, it´s James now.  
Giovanni doesn´t understand why he isn´t allowed to use his own name anymore, but his poppa says that it´s a game. An eternal game of hide and seek. That, Giovanni understands and he becomes James.  
And because he is the best at playing games and because there is something in his blood, he even hides his eyes.  
The disguise is perfect, all emotions safely tucked underneath a wide smile, a cheery facade over all the deep feelings and thoughts. Giovanni Giuseppe is not James Jesse.

Neron sits on his throne. He has to be patient, he has to wait. His child must come to him of his own free will, he can´t force him, that´s against the deal. And if there´s one thing Neron adheres to, it´s his deals.  
But he can´t help it, his blood is calling and something in James wants to answer. Something wants to drag him down, something wants to make him fall, to let go and just fall. He is young and scared and he is afraid to fall. He belongs in the air! So, James thinks of a solution. He doesn´t want to fall, but he needs someone to catch him. His poppa - no, he let him fall too often. His friends - he doesn´t have any. He is alone.  
James reads stories of robbers that were heroes, of bravery and he wishes that he were like that. He wants to be smart and courageous, like the men in his books. And because there is something in his blood, something powerful, he is. James Jesse becomes the Trickster. He invents shoes that won´t let him fall, that liberate him from gravity, that make him free.  
He meets the Rogues, who become his friends, his safety net, his family.

Down in hell, Neron has to grin. His son is so stubborn, he is subconsciously rebelling against his father´s call. And Neron can´t help but to be proud, because he had not expected it to be any different. He wants to drag his son down, but James is walking in the sky, free from any clutches.

Tragedy strikes, as death and madness invade the Rogues. The game of cops&robbers has become a deadly one. Neron didn´t start that, but he is happy to act as a catalyst. The Rogues die, until there is noone left. Only his son and the last challenge. Neron sets his masterplan in motion. And every supervillain gets a package delivered which contains a single green candle. The Trickster doesn´t get one, he has to come on his own. And as Neron expected him to, he had gotten himself a candle on his own.  
The villains of Earth are assembled in Hell, wary, confused and excited.  
The Trickster knows that something is wrong. He doesn´t know how, but something is there...something in his blood tells him that things are not what they appear to be. Of course he is right. Neron speaks to his son - finally, finally - but he doesn´t reveal who he is. He looks at the Trickster with his unearthly eyes and sees the eyes of a trickster look back. He sees the blonde hair and the smile and he rejoices, because his son is so much like him.

The Trickster foils his plan. Neron rages, tears through hell, screams his anger and frustration. So close, his son was in arm´s reach, so close! But, it had not been enough. There is something in him that is exactly like Neron, and the complete opposite, too. His son isn´t a demon, but he isn´t human either. He isn´t something in between, he is beyond that. His son is a Trickster, defying every law, made my man, made by nature, made by destiny.  
It is in his blood!

Neron has lost this battle.  
Time after Time, the Rogues return. The Trickster´s family comes to life. And his family has expanded, he has a son. Neron has a grandson. And as in him, as in the Trickster, there is something in his blood, too. And his eyes aren´t human either. They aren´t demonic like Neron´s, they aren´t seemingly human like the Trickster´s, they aren´t human like his mother´s - they are divine.

Neron doesn´t know, and is beaten again, by his own son and grandson.  
He curses and rages.  
He should have known.  
A Trickster is all about balance.  
And if Neron is black, the Trickster is grey, and his son has to be white.  
Demon, Trickster, God.  
There is something in their blood, something that binds them, but rips them apart.

Neron plots again. He had had the Trickster before, he had been so close. He needs to start again. But the Trickster, discouraged and alone, has become James Jesse again. He needs to change that, so darkness befalls his little make-shift family, death and madness strike again and from the ashes, the Trickster rises. Nerson smiles.  
He will make the Trickster fall.  
There is something in the Trickster´s blood that defies all rules - not even by choice, just by being there. The Rogues golden rule gets broken and the Flash dies. The Trickster begins to fall, deeper and deeper and faster and faster. Just before he hits the ground, he surged upward, he tries to break free, tries to fly, but Neron has learned from his mistakes.  
The urge not to fall is big, but the urge to protect his family is even bigger.  
The Trickster chooses to save his friend and dies.  
He falls.

Neron sits on his throne and smiles.  
His son is finally here. He can hear something in his blood calling, something that they share, something that binds them. He has come of his own free will.  
His son is here with him.  
And now Neron will never let him go.


	52. I'll just pretend that I don't know you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rogues and game nights

Piper opened the door and stood frozen, the door handle still in his hand.

The Rogues were lying in a big pile of limbs, costume parts and bodies mashed together tightly. Arms threaded throug arms, legs tangled, chests pressed against chests, panting, faces red from exhaustion.

Right...he had forgotten about weekly game night and Trickster´s announcement/threat to introduce Twister to it.

"Piper, help me, we´re ...stuck. I´m getting cramps!"  
Piper didn´t move. "I´m going to wash my hands of this weirdness," he said and left without another word.

"As soon as I can feel my arms again, I´m going to kill you, JJ!  
...JJ?"  
Unbeknownst to the other Rogues, JJ had slipped from the pile 20 minutes ago.


	53. Community

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Rogues together are strong

The Rogues were different from the rest of supervillains.  
They didn´t build doomsday devices and tried to take over the world (well, except that one time with the top-shaped atomic bomb). They didn´t hire henchmen, they didn´t have sidekicks or female assistants. They didn´t take hostages, they didn´t kidnap and they didn´t set up ridiculously complicated death traps.  
They never aimed to kill, never hurt women or children.  
But those weren´t the big differences; they were important, of course, but not what set them apart.

There had been leagues and alliances between supervillains, team-ups for mutual benefit. They never lasted and always ended in disaster, because there was no trust, no friendship, no kinship between them.  
If a supervillain saw his partner drown, he´d wave a little, cackle, take the loot and run.  
If a Rogue saw a Rogue drown, he´d jump head-first into the water trying to save his friend, his brother, completely disregarding his own health and the danger he was placing himself in.  
Well, if the Rogue was one of the more level-headed ones, he´d think first and then act, but he´d give his life to save the other.  
That was what made them different.  
That was what made them a family.


	54. Kids

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rogues and road trips

"I spy with my little eye...something blue."  
"Len´s shirt."  
"Right, your turn."  
"I spy with my little eye...something pink."  
"Mark´s pants."  
"Right."  
"Those aren´t pink, they´re mauve. Mauve, you imbecile."  
"Really? Looks pink to me."  
"They´re not. That is a completely different color!"  
"What the hell are you talking about, his pants are green."  
The Rogues all (except for Len who kept his eyes firmly glued to the road and tried to ignore the rest of the van) looked at Roy.  
"Why don´t we play something else?" Piper suggested.  
"The number plate game?"  
"Dude, we already played that for two hours."  
"20 questions?"  
"No."  
"Never ever have I?"  
"You´re not drinking while I´m driving!" Len commanded. A van full of Rogues on their way to California for beach, summer and sun was bad enough, but a van of drunken Rogues en route to their vacation - no way.  
"Name that tune?"  
"I´ll bash your head in with your flute if you keep suggesting that!"  
"I brought my travel trivia pursuit, we could play that."  
After a disastrous first game when Roscoe answered all but one question correctly and won while embarassing them all, they sulkily decided to play something else.  
"Tap tap, ha ha?" James suggested.  
"How do you play that?"  
"Well, one person says ´tap, tap´, the other says ´ha ha´and that goes on and on and on."  
Visions of horror began to play in Len´s head.  
"If you do that, I swear that I will turn this van straight around and drive back to Kansas!"  
...  
"Who´s up for word chain?"  
"Antilope"  
"Easter"  
"Rainbow"  
"Wizard"  
"Disharmony"  
"Yatzee!"

"Mick, remind me to get so plastered that I will kill most of my brain cells and obliterate this trip from my memory."  
"Will do, Len, will do."


	55. Power

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Piper has the power to manipulate people with sounds.  
> That turns out to be a disadvantage.

Piper caught James glaring at him. It was just a normal afternoon at the safehouse, no planning, plotting, just a day off from villainy. Piper was working on his sonic clarinet when he felt the inexplicable tingle of being watched. He felt stalked, like prey. He turned around and saw Len reclining on the armchair, newspaper over his face and softly snoring. Mark swung lazily from side to side in the hammock that had one day appeared in the corner. Digger and Sam played checkers. Mick was absent and there he was: James, sitting crosslegged on the couch, glaring daggers at him.  
He looked angry and a scowl was on his face.  
"Is everything alright, James?" Piper asked. Did he do anything to offend James today?  
"Yes, perfectly," James spat out viciously and crossed his arms in front of his chest defensively. He was clearly projected "I am extremely pissed"-vibes. Piper sighed. Just because James was the youngest didn´t mean that he had to act like a petulant teenager. And he had lately, had snapped without reason, didn´t pay attention, whined, had mood swings... Piper decided to be the responsible one and stood up. "A word, James, please," he said and walked out of the living room into the garden, far away from prying eyes and ears (metaphorically prying eyes and ears since no one of the Rogues seemed even vaguely interested). James rose from the couch and followed Piper, kicking the carpet as he went into the garden.

"James, what´s wrong? I can see that something is troubling you, so what is it? Maybe I can help?"  
James snorted. "That´s rich, coming from you. _You_ can help me. Suuuuure you can, Pipes."  
"I don´t understand, what are you talking about?"  
"About you! This is your fault!"  
"My...my fault?! What the hell, James? What have I done?"  
"´What have I done?´," James mocked, "what did you do?!"  
"What?" Piper was confused. He wrecked his brain for an answer. Did he do anything to James? No, there was nothing.  
"You and your stupid sonic hypnotic thingmajing! You did this to me!"  
"James, what? I have no idea what you´re talking about?"  
"Fine, play the innocent, but I don´t buy it. I´ve seen your gizmos, your gadgets, I´ve seen the hypnotizing stuff, the mind-control, the hypnotic suggestions planted in the subconscious. You thought you were so clever, but guess what - I see right through you. I can see you looking at me when you think I don´t notice. I can feel you staring when you think I´m asleep. I know, Piper, I _know_."  
Piper was shocked. He had been so careful, but surely, that was nothing to justify James´ wrath. So his eyes had lingered on James´ form a couple of times, but always in safe situtions, full clothing, nothing suggestive. In fact, Piper had resigned to the idea of distance, knowing that James was not in the least interested in him anyway.  
"I...okay, I think you´re attractive, but you don´t need to freak out, it´s not like I have done anything-"  
"Wrong!" James shouted, his face red with anger and something else that Piper couldn´t identify. "You did something to me. I know, you used your stupid flute or a sonic gadget or something, you did this thing with my mind!"  
"What? No, where-"  
"Don´t lie to me. You messed with my head. I can only think about you, I dream about you, I wonder....Piper, I wonder how your hair feels like, what it would be like to ...touch, to kiss you. Everytime I look at you I feel weird and light-headed. At first I thought I had the flu, but I know better now. It´s you. Everytime I see you, it gets worse. My heart pounds in my ears and I can only think about you, what you like, where you´re from, what you want to do tonight, if you need help, if you like me... what is this power you have over me? Hypnosis? Sonic...stuff? Piper, it´s tearing me apart, make it stop."  
Oh. OH.  
"You think I made you feel like this and think like this?"  
"Of course, I don´t ...feel like that, never did before and then you come, with your silly flute and the powers and then suddenly I can´t stop thinking about you, when you smile I smile and my heart feels like it´s exploding over and over again?"  
"James, you´re an idiot. I never manipulated you, I never used any of my gadgets on you. Did it ever occurr to you that maybe you felt like this way without being influenced? That maybe, these feelings come from inside you?"  
"What, I - I don´t understand..."  
Piper looked at James and saw the honest confusion in his eyes. He really had no clue. James had fallen for him (James had fallen for him?!) and didn´t know what to do with these feelings and rationalized them as an outside manipulation of a master of hypnosis. Oh boy, this just kept on getting better and better.  
"James, take a deep breath and relax. You know me, would I manipulate you for days and mess with your head?"  
"Weeks, that all started weeks ago."  
Piper felt like laughing and crying. James, you incorrigible, little...  
"I didn´t do anything, I swear. That´s all you, James."  
"It is?"  
Piper nodded. James buried his head in his hands.  
"I feel like an idiot," he admitted sheepishly.  
"You´re just a bit confused. This is new for you, isn´t it?"  
James nodded soundlessly."So, you didn´t ...put these feelings into me?"  
"No, James, I´d never manipulate you."  
"Oh."  
They stood there for a little eternity, Piper with his hands in his pocket unsure what to do with them, James with his arms wrapped around himself.  
"Then," James began, "I...I"  
He raised his head to look at Piper. "I have been such an ass," he said, "but I was confused and curious and a mess and... forgive me."  
"Of course, James."  
James took a step forward and hugged Piper. He sighed. "I wondered for weeks what that felt like," he admitted and buried his face in Piper´s neck. Hesitantly, Piper raised his arms and wrapped them around James.  
"And?"  
"It´s kinda nice," James said.  
Piper was startled when he heard James sniffing his hair.  
"James?"  
"Apples, I knew it," he replied, and Piper laughed.  
"Piper?"  
"Hmmm?"  
"I don´t know what the standard procedure is, but ...do you have plans for tonight?"  
Piper thought of repairs that needed to be done, upgrades and experiments.  
"No, I´m all yours."  
"Dinner and a movie?"  
"You´re catching on quickly."  
"I´ve had weeks to plan the perfect date in my mind", he replied.

 

In the kitchen, Mick stood at the window with binoculars.  
"Any of you a lip-reader?" he hissed.  
"Nope," the other Rogues replied as they pressed their faces against the glass pane.  
"How long did it take for them to catch on?" Mark asked and pondered whether he should add a little weather effect, like sun breaking through clouds or a rainbow, but decided against it. Too obvious.  
"It´s been sodding 2 months and 3 weeks," Digger replied, "about time one of them finally caught on. I can´t stand this pining and the looks,"  
"Yearning gazes of desire," Len added and snickered.  
"Lovelorn sighes and heavy hearts," Mick said and bit his lip to keep himself from laughing.  
"Tender caresses and romantic dreams," Mark supplied and grinned.  
"Shush, they´re going to hear us,"Digger said. The Rogues secretly watched as Piper threaded his hand through James´ hair.  
"Awwwww," they said in unison. Shortly afterwards, they fled back to their original spots and pretended that absolutely nothing had happened, that they had seen nothing, heard nothing and were generally very, very oblivious.


	56. Curses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neron has a sweet, sweet deal to offer James

It´s a rotten deal.  
He should not take it. He should not trust Neron.  
But he just can´t anymore, he just can´t - it hurts too much.  
He lives under constant torture, he spends an eternity looking at a small crystal orb, as he sees madness and death tormenting his friends, his family. But the orb doesn´t just show what is, it shows him what was, what he had done and there is so much he has to be sorry for, so much he has to account for, all those things he can never undo, all these things he´s sorry for. It breaks his heart. And then, the orb shows him the future. What will happen to his friends and he is unable to stop it. He sees the terror, the monsters, he sees his friends dying and he can´t stop it. Not like this.

Not alone. He needs to get out, now.  
He tricks and schemes, he tries everything - he tries for an eternity and fails agains and again. He despairs and that is when Neron comes to him. The Trickster is grasping at straws and every source of comfort, every faint glimmer of hope, as fake and wrong as they may be, is better than this helplessness.

The voice is sweet and melodious and infects his mind.  
"I can help you, together we can be strong. Together we can leave this place. Help me to help yourself. I don´t want to hurt you, that was never my intention." James looks into Neron´s eyes, the prince of Hell is but a shadow of himself, incapable of leaving hell himself, incapable of fighting.  
James can´t struggle anymore.  
"Yes."

They are one, together they can leave. Two shadows form one whole.  
From sunrise to sunset, James is alive, the Trickster is flying.  
From sunset to sunrise, in the night, Neron walks on earth.  
He grins maliciously, green flames engulfing his body. He laughs and it sounds like darkness, midnight and utter terror.


	57. Power Outage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rogues and a power outage

It was a dark, rainy, stormy night as the power went out in Keystone City.  
Within a second, all the power was gone and the town was left in darkness and silence.

 

Len sighed and opened the fridge. He had no idea when the power would return and thus made a decision. He would not let his ice cream spoil, so he picked up a spoon, his bucket of ice cream and had a very enjoyable evening with candlelight, ice cream and peaceful silence.

As the power went out, Mick shrugged, muttered a "I knew this would happen" and got into his "comfort" room: it was filled with candles of all sizes, all colors and all scents. He started lighting them, one by one. The darkness fled, soft light and warmth enveloped him. He stared mesmerized at the flames until dawn.

Mark didn´t actually notice the power outage as he was up in the heavens, riding on storm clouds and whooping with joy whenever lightning struck and thunder growled.

Sam had decided to call it an early night and had slept through the whole thing, dreaming of riches, treasures and the waitress of his favorite café.

Piper was a little annoyed. Working on your speakers in the middle of the night wasn´t the best idea he had ever had, but now he was buried in wires, cables and various parts of machinery and engulfed in utter darkness. But he knew that continuing to tinker with your speakers in the middle of the night by the shine of his one candle was an even worde idea.  
So he abandoned his little sideproject and stood up to fetch his lute. He was in the mood for something soft and lyrical, and soon a soft melody filled the room.

"That is just typical," Lisa said and tapped her foot impatiently," the first power outage in three years and we´re stuck in an elevator! Is our life a silly sitcom, or what?"  
Roscoe had finally pried the doors open, but they were currently between floors so they couldn´t get out that way, the gap was much too narrow.  
"Sorry, my love, we can´t get out. And using our powers... we´d only compromise the structural integrity of the elevator, maybe the cable would snap. We´re stuck until someone finds us."  
He reached for Lisa and pulled her into a soft embrace.  
"I´m sorry, darling."  
"It´s not your fault, Roscoe," she said, "it´s a stupid coincidence."  
She sighed and patted his arm. Then she smirked.  
"Roscoe?" she asked. He recognized that tone, that was the "I just had a wonderful/horrible idea"-tone.  
"Yes, darling?"  
"Speaking of silly sitcoms, do you know what couples who are stuck in elevators always do during a power outage?"  
Roscoe couldn´t see her face, but he knew that a smirk was there. He grinned. Indeed, he knew.

Digger had been in a bar, drinking, laughing, punching people...he didn´t see why the power outage should stop him doing that.

James sat on his bed, blanket thrown over his head. He clutched the pink teddy bear to his chest, rocking forwards and backwards.  
He tried to breathe calmly, steadily, but he was on the brink of hyperventilation.  
It would have been funny if it hadn´t been so sad. As a child he never had minded storms, he never had minded having no power. He had liked it when the circus had gotten together, had lighted candles and had told stories until he had fallen asleep. Now he was alone in the dark. At the edge of his mind, there was a horrible grin with too sharp teeth, a horrible voice with too much power in it and eyes that glowed green. He was too old for childhood monsters.  
But apparently, the monsters had decided otherwise.


	58. Retro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Rogues come back to life

Piper laughed while tears rolled down his face.  
He clutched James´ shoulders tightly as they half-waltzed half-stumbled through the room. James was singing a silly tune, forgetting most of the words and substituting them with "la-la-la".

Gambi clapped his hands in the rhythm and smiled.

As Piper and James did what no sane man could describe as dancing, Len was engaged in an awkward three-way-hug with Lisa and Roscoe, muttering "I´m sorry"s and "I love you"s in her hair and crushing Roscoe against his chest. It was physically uncomfortable and it hurt, but they wouldn´t let go.

Roy was painting the wall. "It´s gonna be my masterpiece," he declared between brushstrokes. "It will be magnificent, it will be perfect."  
He was painting the Brightest Day, how they had come back to life and how they all had defeated the black entity, all together - all feelings, all emotion and one goal.  
It was in color.  
And for the first time in his life, they weren´t clashing horribly or mismatched.  
For the first time in his life...Roy could see colors.

Digger smiled, he beamed at his son.  
Owen smiled back.  
"I am incredibly proud of you," Digger said and engulfed Owen in a bone-crushing bear hug. They both refused to let go.

In countless mirrors, Sam and Mark watched the world, saw the fireworks, the celebrations, the parties on the streets, strangers hugging, crying and the sheer joy.  
Joy of being alive, joy of seeing beloved ones that had died alive once again, joy of being together...joy of loving and being loved.

Evan and Axel sat in a corner, silent.  
Music blasted from the headphones around Axel´s neck.  
The family was re-united, all struggles forgotten and forgiven, all happy...  
It pulled, it yanked at Axel´s heartstrings...he had sort of a soft spot for happy families. And this one didn´t need him. It hurt. All the anger in him bubbled up, all the harsh words inside him, the frustration, it wanted out. He wanted to smash, to tear to shreds, to hurt others before he got hurt...  
Someone nearly crashed into him.  
The old guy, the sell-out, the "old" Trickster giggled and sank down on the floor beside him.  
"What a party," he said smilingly.  
"Retro-bullshit," Axel spat out.  
"Just because it´s retro doesn´t mean it´s bad," the "old" Trickster said with a knowing look on his face.  
Axel wanted to scream. He hated patronizing.  
"Aren´t we the weirdest family you have ever seen?" the "old" Trickster asked before Axel could snap, could lash out.  
"Uh-huh, weird, man," Axel spat.  
"You know, that´s the thing about family...there´s always room for more," the "old" Trickster said and rose to his feet. He went to each single Rogue and hugged them.  
When he came to Piper, he kissed him instead.  
They laughed again and started to sing.  
One by one, the others joined in.  
They...seemed to shine, with tears and laughter and love.

Axel did have a soft spot for happy families.  
And maybe...he´d finally be part of one..


	59. Schadenfreude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whenever people pick on Piper, someone pranks them.

Being a Rogue had taught Piper a lot of things.  
They taught him the meaning of friendship, undying loyalty, trust and family.  
And they also taught him the meaning of the phrase "utter, utter bastards".

The food he bought was stolen from the fridge and eaten in front of him.  
His toothbrush...ceased to be his toothbrush after the first night and the less he said about the general hygiene, or lack of hygiene, the better.  
The swear words the Rogues traded...they were harsh, but apparently to them, they were terms of endearment. Piper had never heard someone say "sissy assmunch" with as much affection as Digger did.  
Also, the brawls...Piper was reminded of Asterix everytime the Rogues engaged in a brawl. He didn´t participate anymore after the first time brought him a cracked rib and a stay at the hospital.

Sometimes, it was almost too much for him, he needed to get away, but ...every time that happened, his invisible guardian angel avenged him.  
If Piper had believed in poetic justice, he would have taken those incidents as signs, but they seemed to have a more personal touch.

Like the time someone slipped blue dye in Len´s beer...blue dye that wouldn´t wash off, no matter how often he brushed his teeth. And afterwards, they found out that his toothpaste contained glitter..which also wouldn´t go off for a week.  
Or the time Roscoe was constantly hit in the face from an egg-a-pult everytime he opened a door.

Piper´s favorite would be the day everyone´s pants vanished. Every single pair of trousers, boxers, underpants, leggings, tights and all of the costumes were missing. Also, every pair they bought(stole)after the mysterious vanishing, also went missing as soon as they took their eyes off them - when they were in the shower, undressed for bed...and even if they didn´t undress and kept them on when they went to sleep. They found them in the basement... a week after they went missing. In the meantime, Piper enjoyed his stay in the hospital (courtesy of that one brawl he participated in) fully clothed, getting visits from James who wore a thobe, Len in a kilt and Mark who wore a bedsheet in the fashion of a toga.

And Digger...what did not happen to Digger?  
For every insult he dished out, he got payback. It came in the form of pizzas he never ordered (all Pizza Tonno which he despised...and subsequently used as projectiles), dye in the shower, a live skunk in his bed, boomerangs replaced with bananas (which he still threw at people) and finally the male kiss-o-gram who had been paid for 100 kisses and a love-song.

Piper knew in his heart that the Rogues were a decent bunch, that they never aimed to harm him, but sometimes were too rough for their own (and his) good.  
That still didn´t stop him from feeling schadenfreude as he saw Mick slip on a banana peel, Mark walking into glass doors that hadn´t been there yesterday ago and Sam waking up with pink bunny ears that were glued to his hair.  
He sat at the kitchen table with his chai tea and biscuits, listening to the panicked "Why doesn´t this nail-polish come off?" from Mick as James entered the kitchen, whistling and carrying a bag that smelled more than delicious.  
"Morning, Piper," he said, sat the bag down at the table and went to make himself some coffee.  
"You´re in a good mood today," Piper observed, a small smile gracing his features.  
"I am feeling happy. By the way, I brought croissants, dig in."  
"Thank you, James."  
Mentally, Piper counted to five.

"Bwa-ha-ha! Did he see it yet? Tell me, he saw it!" James bursted out.  
"Mick has pink toes, congratulations, JJ."  
"Ha! I am such a genius!"  
"Personally, I think you had better ones," Piper said.  
James turned around. He looked far too pleased and slightly evil.  
"Wait until they´ve discovered the rest."  
"There´s more?!"  
"I´m a genius, told you. Besides, they had it coming. No one messes with you...well, besides me, of course."  
Piper smirked.  
"You can mess with me any time, JJ."  
James smiled, grabbed his coffe and sat down next to Piper, their shoulders and thighs brushing. They shared a nice breakfast while in the other rooms of their hideout, Mick complained about his pink toenails, Sam tried to get rid off the chinese finger trap that had appeared on his fingers over the night, Len scrubbed at the sharpie moustache on his face, Mark searched for his wand in a haystack that hadn´t been there last night, Roscoe tore down posters depicting gay porn and Lisa wondered why her perfume smelled of fish.

The best kind of joy was schadenfreude.

(Digger woke up on a boat halfway to Singapore, but JJ didn´t have anything to do with that.  
Seriously.)


	60. Shower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rogues together in one house is both a good and a horrible idea.

The shower was running and someone was actually singing. More like gurgling or hmmm-ing, but the intent was clearly recognizeable.  
"Hurry up!" Len hollered and banged at the door to the bathroom.  
It may had seemed decadent, but clearly a house with just two bathrooms wasn´t enough - especially when one of them was broken.  
He had been standing in front of the goddam door for five minutes now, had to listen to that one song from Flashdance (a horrible rendition) and he needed to use the bathroom now. Like now.  
Mark joined him, yawning, scratching at his belly. "Whuu hoo-hah" he mumbled, the universal sleep-speak for "Good morning".  
Len grumbled, then banged on the door again. "Hurry up!"  
"Whooshinar?" Mark asked.  
"JJ. I swear, if he´s playing with his goddamn rubber duckies again, I´ll strangle him."  
Cluttering could be heard from downstairs, Mick and Sam preparing breakfast, leftover pizza and beer from yesterday. Roscoe and Lisa had left, they chose to spend their night at the Chè Roscoe. Roy was outside, improving a graffiti-stricken wall. Of course he would be a morning person.  
Len was too dignified to hop around on the spot like Mark did, but shifted his weight from one foot to the other every so often.  
A melody drifted through the door, a horribly mangled version of "Time to say goodbye". Mark kicked the door.  
"James!"  
"Pipe down, geez! It´s not even 10am, some people want to sleep in, you know."  
Len and Mark stared at JJ standing in the hallway, clad in pink bunny slippers and what appeared to be a bed sheet wrapped around him as a toga.  
"If you´re out here," the gears shifted, " then who the fuck is in there?"

Len decided that he had shown enough patience and kicked the door down.

All three men from in front of the bathroom shrieked and fled in terror.

Digger Harkness, singing stark naked under the shower, is not something you can endure on an empty stomach first thing in the morning..


	61. Star Saphire!JJ

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> exactly what it says on the tin

Wally knew that his life had never been ordinary, had never been quite normal, but it wasn´t a bad life.  
Married to the love of his life, two fantastic kids - the Flash family re-united with Jay, Barry and Bart.  
He knew, however, that his life wasn´t exactly stable and could get worse every second.  
Seconds seemed like small eternities to Flashes.

The second his life became infinetely more complicated stretched incredibly long. It was the time it took him to blink.  
A bright light blinded him - it was like a star, but it didn´t hurt his eyes. It wasn´t a soft glow - intense light that seemed to be alive, for the lack of a better word.  
Then the whiteness changed into rosè, into a soft pinkish-hue until it was bright fuchsia that assaulted his eyes.  
The light spun out, enveloped him in affection.  
"It´s okay, you are loved," a voice whispered to him...the voice was familiar, but he couldn´t lace it. Sparkles rained down onto him, myriads of light flecks covered the ground.  
He felt warmth, but from the inside. It felt like the first snow, a white christmas and pancakes, like his first kiss, good wine and valentine´s day - like his marriage. Like the birth of Iris and Jai. It was love.

In awe he stared at the light until it revealed the a form...it shone from the inside, bright like a star and gentle as a lover´s caress.  
He felt the smile before he saw it. There were two beings...two humans.  
They radiated affection, understanding, trust and neverending love. Joy, happiness and content washed over him.  
Then, recognition hit him.  
His body was in the process of forming the word "Piper?" as he got a good look at the another person, this pure, this shining...  
Trickster?!  
He wanted to focus on his friend, to take in how good, how happy he looked. Healthier than in years, like there was light underneath his skin which illuminated him...them.  
But his brain was distracted by the little slip of fuchsia-colored nothing the Trickster wore.  
In this thousandth part of the second, his brain broke and he stuttered "Gwuh?"

Time resumed its normal flow.  
Piper looked at James.  
"Was the thong really necessary?"


	62. Don Giovanni

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> also the name of one famous italian lover

Piper should have known that something was up.  
James had acted kind of funny all day.  
It wasn´t quite nervous fidgeting as on the day he asked him out, it wasn´t veiled guilt like the time he had accidentally broken a priceless record - it was almost like giddy expectation, but there was something more.  
And the look in James´ eyes...

"Nevermind," Piper said to himself and went back to work on his sonic kazoo.  
James left their living room, mumbling something about a shower.

Piper was very focused so he didn´t notice when James returned from the shower.  
Piper had thought that he had seen every outfit James owned, every single ridiculous, blinding, horribly clashing, childish piece of clothing...apparently he had been wrong.

James´ hair was a blond mane reaching to his shoulders, a plain black mask covering half of his face.  
He wore a silken shirt which revealed more than it concealed, the soft white color a contrast to his tanned skin. His pants were made of leather and so incredibly tight...Piper swallowed around the lump in his throat.  
Boots hugged his calves tightly, golden ornamental patterns climbing up his legs like ivy.  
He held a single rose in his teeth.  
"Piper," he purred with a warm accent that sounded like home, like he was speaking from the depths of his heart, "happy birthday, mio amore."


	63. Angel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The universe has been unfair to Piper. But now, it makes up for it.

It just wasn´t fair.  
Of course, life had always been cruel to him - born deaf, neglected by parents, criminal career - but it just kept going and going.  
He had found a new family, and they were dying around him, he had ended up in a mental institution once... and he had reformed, given up his villaineous ways...and still got crap at every corner. He had been ignored (again), ridiculed, framed for murder of his own parents, pressed into government service and then tossed into a war...and that was before it actually went downhill.  
Bart died.  
James died.  
It just wasn´t fair. He screamed into the night, he cried and sobbed.  
But just this once, fate actually listened to him.  
The forces of good were always well-meaning, sometimes just disorganized.  
Heaven wasn´t what people usually expected. It wasn´t like a fields of clouds with everyone wearing white bedsheets while playing harps and flying around with fluffy wings. It wasn´t a tunnel of light with all your relatives waiting for you, nor was it blissful nothingness. It was impossible to describe, but it was good.

But life really wasn´t fair - Piper had a huge amount of good karma on his side, and it was being cashed in right now.  
Time to get the Piper his own personal guardian angel.

The night was magical. It seemed ordinary,but the stars shone brighter, the air was crisper and there was a special melody playing in the music of the spheres tonight. And at midnight, a star fell to earth. It lighted up the sky, fire licking at the edges, the core heating up, lighting up, going faster and faster. It struck a chord in a very special heart and the man who called himself the Piper woke up from an unrestful sleep tormented with nightmares. There was something, someone calling to him. He felt it rather than heard it, and that terrified him, but it soothed him somehow. A voice that spoke without words whispered of love, of safety, of peace and protection. Piper´s heart beat painfully high in his chest; it felt like being in love, like being loved so much.  
He looked out of the window, into the sky and there was light, a star was falling from the sky. It was on fire, but not on fire, it didn´t burn, wasn´t consumed by flame and smoke, it shone, got brighter and brighter until it should have hurt to look at it, but it didn´t. The star could never hurt him.  
Eternal love, it promised.  
Piper could feel it speaking, could hear with all his heart and soul.  
I love you.  
It was incredibly close, he felt as if he could touch it if he just reached out with his hand. Without realizing, his hand had lifted itself and moved forward to touch, to caress.  
The light was too bright to see anything, but Piper swore that he saw a smile. A beautiful smile that he recognized.  
But that was impossible.  
But a heart is a foolish thing and never stops hoping, never stops yearning, never stops to love.  
"James?"  
He saw a pair of blue eyes that twinkled in silent laughter and then he was embraced, a solid body pressed against his own.  
He was crying, he was so happy.  
This had to be a dream, but Piper knew it wasn´t. James´ hair tickled his face, he smelled wonderful and his arms around Piper´s body were too real.It was true.  
And as James kissed him, it was as if the terrible weight upon Piper´s shoulders had vanished, as if he could breathe for the first time in years, as if the iron chains around his heart were broken.  
James was real, solid, and stark naked. Piper laughed, because that was so James.

 

The morning sun found them on Piper´s bed, above the covers, just talking and holding on to each other.  
"James?"  
"Yes, Piper?"  
"Did it hurt?"  
"What?"  
"When you fell from the sky?"  
James looked at him very serious, then groaned and hid his face in the crook of his elbow.  
"You´ve been waiting for hours to use that one!"  
"Since sunrise."  
"You have a horrible taste; in puns, clothes and pick-up lines."  
"True, but you love me anyway."  
James grinned. "I do. As God is my witness, and I guess he is, I really, really do.".


	64. That night in Paris

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James and Piper go to Paris for a romantic getaway. Naturally it doesn't work out.

Paris - the famous city of love, metropolis of majesty, home to the louvre and culture.  
It was every romantic man and woman´s dream to go to Paris with their beloved, to stroll at the shore of the Seine, the see the museums, to marvel at the Arc de Triomphe and to climb up the Eiffel Tower.

Piper really should have known better.  
Paris was also home to Disneyland. When James had presented him the tickets, Piper´s mind had flown to little cafés and brasseries, to wine, delicious food, romantic candle light dinners and the stars reflected in each other´s eyes.  
James had thought of Mickey Mouse and french fries.

Needless to say, their points of view clashed rather horribly upon their arrival. Piper did not want to ride rollercoasters and take pictures with Goofy, James didn´t want to visit a museum he wasn´t allowed to rob.  
So, they had sulked, snarked and had gone their way.

But the nicest wine tasted dull without James.  
No attraction was any fun without Piper.  
The Mona Lisa was positively tiny, and the Louvre wasn´t that exciting without James´ mockery of the Da Vinci Code (he had promised on the flight to keep it somewhat tasteful).  
French fries were a disappointment.

After an hour, both James and Piper had enough of Paris without each other and abandoned their goals for the day in order to find the other one.  
Through some hilarious sequences of events, they constantly missed each other, one entering the metro when the other left it, James going left when Piper was right, Piper turning back when James was just around the corner.  
After one stopped robbery, in total 13 cups of coffee, spending about 200 bucks each getting into museums/attractions/means of transportation they suspected the other to be in, it was night and they still hadn´t found each other.

Piper had sat down at the shore, waiting for James. He knew that the chances of two people finding each other was bigger if one stayed still instead of both moving around. So, he listened to the city which was far from asleep. He waited for James.  
James had enough of searching. He was tired, hungry and he missed Piper. He broke into a drug store and emerged five minutes later with a special little packet.  
He ran to the Eiffel Tower, set the packet down, ran away even faster and waited. After 15 seconds, something fizzed and a shower of fire works erupted, bathing the tower in gold and blue.  
Piper was facing away from the tower.  
But the sparks rose higher until they reflected in the water and Piper saw the glittering letters that spelled "I´m sorry".  
He ran to the Eiffel Tower as fast as his legs could carry him. He fell into James´ arms and both started talking and apologizing at the same time, whispering "I´m sorry"s and "I love you"s into each other´s ears. They promised to make up for it tomorrow.  
But tonight, they returned to the hotel room to show each other just how much they had missed each other.

"That Night in Paris" became one of the incidents, one of the "you had to be there stories" and their personal little secret.

Next year, they went to Venice, but that is another story.


	65. (Big)Brother(Eye)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flash spies on the Rogues and doesn't like what he's hearing

(Big)Brother(Eye)

Wally didn´t not like Batman.  
Sure, he was a living legend, Gotham´s dark knight and just so damn good, but damn, that guy was creepy. And as if he didn´t have enough to deal with in his own home, he felt the need to help the other superheroes do their job. And this week, he introduced electronic surveilance to Wally. Correct, he did not introduce Wally to the wonders of electronic surveillance, but the other way round. He was talking about cameras - Batman talked about their use in Britain and their possibilities, Wally could only think of Big Brother....and V for Vendetta (which was still a great movie, no matter what Linda said about it). Same with bugs, electronic tracers, telephone surveillance, computer spying... Wally didn´t feel comfortable with that. Of course, Batman had anticipated this and had planted a bug on the Rogues. His Rogues. Without even trying to ask Wally for approval.  
The Rogues had been caught as they were about to rob a bank on monday afternoon (Batman had planted the bug on an unsuspecting Mirror Master), they had broken out of prison by tuesday evening and only through a lot of arguments (and a really great lot of creepy staring) Wally had agreed to wait to arrest them and to listen to them first, figuring out their plans. He didn´t like this and he´d tell Batman that....later.

His mind had drifted off as he sat with Batman, half-listening to the Rogues who were currently at the other end of the town.  
He had had it eith Batman´s "they have a bigger agenda, no criminal could be that stupid and satisfied with that; I´m better at this than you, I´ve been longer at this than you, I wish Barry was here, he´d understand". Finally, Batman left the room...probably to take a nap hanging from the ceiling or something like that  
Wally straighened up and listened to the Rogues.

"I´ll take on the guard; Mick, you get us through the door, and JJ, don´t screw that one up: this time we´re leaving with all the loot."  
What?! Oh crap, they were robbing something!  
"Don´t worry, I´ve upgraded my weapons...and my skill...let´s just say, I´m amazing. No more loose ends from me."  
"Good, Mark! We took too long last time to clear the area. When I say no survivors, I mean no survivors. Can´t risk witnesses; we´re not going back to prison. Red doesn´t need more evidence against us; we´re going to be discrete."  
Wally couldn´t believe his ears! The Rogues - talking about killing? And not for the first time? Impossible! But he had just heard it and...he was already at the crime scene by the end of that thought. It was a huge warehouse that just screamed "Bad things happen here" to Wally. Maybe that GPS-tracking was handy after all.  
He bashed in the door, he yelled "Freeze!" and stopped dead in his tracks.  
Instead of a robbery or break in, instead of a fight, weapons and dead bodies, instead of treasure and violence, he had walked in on a boardgame.  
The Rogues were frozen, their hands outstretched for the dice or holding pens. Mirror Master wore a purple wizard hat and just stared at Wally in shock.  
"What is going on here?" Wally demanded. "What about guards and no witnesses? Tell me!"  
The Trickster was the first to respond. "You heard us?"  
"You´re bugged! Then you talked about killing and-"  
"Dude...it´s just Dungeons&Dragons," the Trickster said and slowly grabbed a book which he extended to Wally. Wally took it and speedread it. It was a roleplay book, a campaign which involved breaking into the evil wizard´s lair and taking the stolen treasure back to the rightful owner, the king (who may had been transformed into a lizard, he didn´t fully understand that one) and to restore the correct order after the corrupt red cardinal had taken over.  
"Oh," he said, "so, you´re not going to kill someone?"  
"Unless it´s Archmage Othar the Despicable, no," Heat Wave said.  
"And all that talk... really, guys, role-playing?"  
The Rogues regarded him with cool gazes.  
"All right, moving along," Wally said and backed up slowly.  
Wait, they were still fugitive criminals who had robbed a bank not two days ago! He charged forward and just managed to dodge a blast of ice. The Rogues were running towards a mirror and instead of crashing into it, walked inside.  
He had lost them.  
Wally returned. The broadcast had broken off; apparently it was not transdimensionally applicable. He dismantled it and vowed never to go all Big Brother again.

"Ok, Mark, the troll has not seen you, but it is on high alert: what do you do?"  
"I think I´ll use my cloak of enshroudment and sneak past him."  
"Ok, roll the dice, let´s see if you succeed...".


	66. The Journey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James's journey from the top to the bottom and below

On the path of life, I wish you well  
Divergent journeys, but we will meet again in Hell

He howled in defeat, his voice rising up to a thunder which growled brutally. He raged, threatened to tear everything apart. His screams were a raw wound, ripped by betrayal. The curse on lips, the name of his enemy, vibrated through the darkness.  
"Trickster!" Neron howled and the flames burnt, they seared and consumed.  
His great price was taken from him, the soul, offered in innocence and with pure altruism...it was to be his price, not his downfall.

He had lost the big game, but the small one... demons are always more than they seem, their souls deeper then you can imagine, their plots more intricate, their words more twisted and their hearts blacker than the blackest night.

"Go on, little Trickster. Live your little life. Have fun...I know I will."  
His face contorted into a grin. "We shall meet again, Trickster. In Hell!"  
His laughter filled the dark abyss, and it was more horrifying than his screams had been.

 

I kept my head down and moved on  
Til every friend I'd known was gone

James had always walked between good and evil, neither on one side, neither on the other. He was friend and enemy, ally and foe, but not anymore.  
With his friends gone, dead or distant, he was all alone. He had chosen a side. Anything not go back, anything to evade Hell, anything.

He slowly worked his way up; from a criminal to a semi-Robin Hood to a government agent. He was a good boy now, playing on the side of angels. He was polite, he was correct, he was righteous, and he was alone.

Then, one day, I was not alone  
Everything had changed, everything was strange  
Everything had changed, everything was strange

When in rags and when in wealth  
A solemn promise never to give too much of myself  
Despite the hopeful things I've said  
I've lived my life inside my head

Then, on one rainy evening, the Piper had shown up in his office. That was so damn foolish and stupid and it broke the walls he had erected around his heart. His friend needed him, had broken into an FBI building for him. James thought of better days, of robberies, of fighting the Flash, of taunting, of flying, of the Rogues. For the first time in many years, the fear lifted from his heart. In that night, he went to his apartment and opened the secret compartment behind his wardrobe. The walls were full of newspaper cut-outs, mug shots, police reports and photographs. In a box on the floor, there were his shoes. They were bright blue, looked like they had come straight from a fairytale and they still fit him perfectly.

He had Piper and Mick, that was a start.  
Then old Digger died - again - and his heart sank. Doubts began to arise and a too familiar voice whispered in his mind, spoke of failure, of death, hopelessness, of loneliness. He had never liked working for the bureau, but he had endured it with a dull mind, with not thinking about it. Now, he was disgusted with himself. He put on a brave face for the others, he oozed confidence, but inside, he felt brittle and black and all alone.

The Rogues War happened and he hated every second of it. Rogues don´t fight each other, bad things happen if they do. And bad things did happen. When he saw that punk who dared to call himself "Trickster", something snapped. Years of surpressed emotions struggled to the surface, frustration and hate clawing their way up. After that day, there was only one Trickster.

The whole business with Roscoe... he didn´t believe it. It was impossible for someone to manipulate his every action, his every thought and all his emotion for years.  
Right?

 

Then, one day, I was not alone  
Everything had changed, everything was strange  
Everything had changed, everything was strange

It felt like the old days, but something was off. It was supposed to be good, fighting the Flash, robbing museums, being amazing and cocky and brilliant. But it tasted foul, with just enough sweetness to cover it up. He longed for the golden days, but something was not right. The cracks in the world he wanted to be right again appeared with Abra and Inertia. They were bad news.

It all spinned all out of control, he tried to stop them, but he was too late, didn´t manage in time and then the kid died.  
And hell on earth broke loose.

He ran, Piper at his side, not knowing who dragged whom, who needed whom and where they were going.  
The world seemed upside down and he felt nauseous everytime he thought about it.

I hold my breath and count to ten  
I hate it now; hated it then  
I've seen it all before  
A failure and a bore  
But that's what friends are for

So it seems I must have won  
As I survey the ashes of the damage that I've done  
Everyone I've ever known  
Is just as closed off and alone

Then, one day, I was not alone  
Everything had changed, everything was strange  
Everything had changed, everything was strange  
Everything had changed, everything was strange  
Everything had changed, everything

 

He hated running. With the Flash, it had been a game, cops&robbers, stealing, getting caught, breaking out; lather, rinse, repeat. But it was serious now, it was deadly now. It wasn´t supposed to be like this. Death was wrong.  
Roscoe shouldn´t have died.  
Sam shouldn´t have died.  
Len, Mick, Mark, Evan and Digger - they should have never died.  
Poor Digger who had died twice.  
Poor Roscoe who had died ...he wasn´t sure how often, but it wasn´t supposed to happen.  
It was all wrong.

And now they were running. They were being hunted. If they slowed down, they would get caught. They would get killed.  
So they ran. And while they ran, the layers broke away. With every step, the mask he had made for himself crumbled.  
Agent Jesse was correct, a devout catholic, efficient, always punctual, neat, law abiding.  
James was a too bright carnie kid who never figured out how to grow up, who loved pranks and would break every rule to save his friends.  
In the end, James appeared for a brief moment, emerged from the shell of Agent Jesse.  
He smiled at the Piper who knew, who, in this moment, knew and understood. He smiled back

James died.

And then, Neron laughed.  
"I told you, little Trickster, that we would meet again."  
He bared his fangs, he smiled and roared.  
And James was all alone again.


	67. Demeaning Day Job

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Their day jobs aren't as glamorous or even dignified as they hoped for

It could be worse, Digger thought.

He could bag groceries, like Len said his wife would make him do, and after having met Mrs Snart, she would be more than capable of fulfilling her threat.

Or he could have ended up like Piper, who worked in homeless shelters, volunteered at soup kitchens and played the part of "starving artist" the rest of the week.

He didn´t know exactly what Sam did for a living when he wasn´t a supervillain, but he had heard rumors that he was either a dentist or a salesman for oriental carpets.

James spent most of his time in the hospital, but he worked wonders with the kids there, playing, telling stories and dressing up for them, making them laugh when there was nothing anymore they could smile about.

His job wasn´t that bad. It certainly was demeaning, the pay wasn´t that good, but he still had his dignity and anonymity - walking around, dressed as a huge pandabear in the amusement park, handing out flyers and taking pictures with children. Digger waddled around, waving overly dramatically at a group of pre-schoolers and let them climb all over him as their teacher took photographs. It really could be a lot worse, he thought..


	68. Capitalism

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Socialist!Piper strikes again

"But that is madness! It is unfair! These demands - I won´t tolerate that! The machinery of capitalism is oiled with the blood of the working class!"  
"Piper, this is neither the time nor the place!"  
"Don´t you realize that the false pride and the shallowness of capitalism is poisoning the minds of the people?  
It weakens mankind!"  
"Piper!"  
"No! Let me finish: it corrupts the children and-"  
"For heaven´s sake, a McDonald´s drive-through is NOT the place for a raving speech against capitalism. Either you order something or you shut the hell up!" Len hollered from the driver´s seat.  
"...Coke light and a salad."  
Len relayed the order and just a few minutes later, the Rogues parked their future-get-away van in the parking lot across the bank and enjoyed their lunch break.

The money still reeked of fast food weeks after the robbery..


	69. Grand Canyon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James takes Piper to Grand Canyon. It's a bit of a disaster

"You´re gonna love it; just me, you and the Route 66. Wait, is that even the right direction? Who cares, it´s about the freedom! The open road! Man, we should have gotten ourselves some bikes, that would have been awesome! Maybe we can ride back that way!  
Piper?  
...Piper? Oh, I forgot...sorry about the sedative.  
I only wanted to spare you the hour-long ride with me, because I know how annoying I can be... how should I know that you´re hypersensitive to it?  
You were supposed to be a bit drowsy and maybe fall asleep after an hour, not do a faceplant in your gyros. That poor chef - well, I left him a message not to worry, his food was delicious.  
Piper?  
...man, that idea of road trip sounded way better before you fell asleep there.  
Piper?  
The one time I´m trying to be nice and of course it backfires....it´s better than that one time with the kiss-o-gram still...".


	70. Arachnophobia

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Never try to scare a heavily armed man

A shriek tore through Keystone City, it spoke of unimaginable terrors, of fright, fear and a horrible monster.

Piper stormed into the room, alarmed and weapons at hand.  
He stopped dead in his tracks as he saw what had triggered the scream.

James was standing in mid-air, his grin frozen painfully on his face. From his left hand, there dangled a plastic spider on a bit of string.  
He was also completely encased in glittering ice.  
Len lowered his gun.  
"I don´t like spiders," he said and left the room.

Piper sighed. Just two years ago, his idea of a normal life included parents who didn´t care, college and music.  
Now it contained supervillains, weaponry and fights of epic proportions. And the daily dose of madness he was being subjected to by his friends.  
He wouldn´t change it for anything in the world, but sometimes he´d like the Rogues to be just a tiny bit more rational and less trigger-happy.  
He sighed as he fetched the hairdryer.  
"Here we go again," he muttered as he sat in front of the Trickster-statue, blowdryer in one hand, his walkman in the other..


	71. Blues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rogues in prison

"No~bo~~dy knows the trouble I´ve seen, nobo~~~dy knows my sorrow."  
The singer was maybe not talented (at all) but at least he was rather enthusiastic and also quite loud.  
The singing was only interrupted by a harmonica solo. The singer was obviously even less talented at playing an instrument.

The guard completed his inspection round and walked past the Rogues´ cell. Keystone City´s notorious criminals had been imprisoned after a museum heist that had gone wrong when not only the Flash, but also the Flash, the Flash, Kid Flash and Impulse had shown up.  
The Rogues had complained all the way about unfair advantages, being outnumbered (which they weren´t, as they had been 9 Rogues against 5 speedsters) and being unable to fight kids, especially the girl.  
They sulked in the cell, being stripped of all weapons and stared at each other. Only the Trickster seemed to amuse himself with the little harmonica.  
The others were decidedly unamused by his lack of musical talent. In a corner, the Mirror Master was repeatedly hitting his head against the wall.

"Noboooody knows-"  
"For heaven´s sake, can´t you take that thing away?!" Captain Cold snapped as the guard approached.  
"He´s been tormenting us for hours!" Heat Wave agreed.  
"He´s positively violating the Geneva conventions!" the Top accused.  
The Weather Wizard walked up to the bars.  
"Please take that damn thing away? He´s driving us mad!"  
The guard looked at the Rogues and their pleading.  
Thanks to them, he had been working overtime today.  
"A little music never hurt anybody," he told the Rogues with a smirk and continued his inspection, whistling as he strolled away.  
He could hear the metallic *thunk* as the Weather Wizard´s head hit the bars.

"Is he gone?" Mick hissed.  
Mark looked up. "Yes, quick now!"  
JJ started to sing even louder, but passed the harmonica to Piper who grinned rather maliciously. "A little music never hurt anybody" he mocked and produced a little screwdriver from a hidden pocket inside his left boot.  
Sam lifted his head. "Can I stop now?"  
Len smiled. "Yes, you were very convincing. JJ, keep on singing. Iron Heights won´t know what hit it!".


	72. Symbols

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Piper meets James for the final time  
> (inspired by the Countdown Last Supper promo)

Piper wept as Apokolips fell, but he didn´t weep for the planet, not for himself and not for his impending death.  
He wept for James, his insufferable, annoying, amazing friend who had saved him and died in the process. As everything went black, Piper didn´t die.  
He was transported and strange images filled his mind. Through foggy darkness he saw a group of people, frozen in time, people he knew, people he recognized and some people he had never seen before.  
There was the Joker, Luthor, Catwoman, Superman...Superman again? What was happening?  
Then he saw him, standing in a group with the Penguin (he´d take revenge on that traitorous little bastard) and the murderer. He didn´t know his name, but that he was behind it all and that he was now dead.  
And there he was, James. He was holding his flute and was clad in clothes that didn´t belong to him. Piper thought he went mad. Then, he had gone mad once before and it didn´t feel anything like it.  
"James? he asked, "James!"  
He started running, but he couldn´t move because there wasn´t space to move, there was no time, there was nothing besides that image. And then the image was real. James moved, he turned his hand and lowered his hands.  
"Piper" he greeted him.  
"What is happening?" Piper asked.  
"You are being transported through space, back to Earth. The Anti-Life-Equation is being used. Human minds can´t comprehend the technology and the travel through dimensions. Your brain uses the signals it can´t interpret and constructs other images in their stead. It´s like dreaming, only that you´re not asleep."  
"Why keep I seeing you? Why keep I hearing you? James, what are you doing?"  
"Because you´re special. You have cosmic power, divine power. I died and you didn´t want me to go. So, I couldn´t leave. My body died, but my soul remained, guiding you, urging you on. And now...you wanted to see me, and here I am."  
"But why are you looking like this?"  
He grinned and it was painful to watch, to see him as if he was alive.  
"It´s a metaphor, Piper." He tugged at his clothes. "They belong to that other Trickster. I´m wearing them...well, plaid and all, that´s not me, isn´t it? I guess that´s it. I haven´t been myself in a long time. Symbolism and all...I told you I was a dream."  
"Can´t...can´t I help? You said I had those powers, can´t I help you?"  
"You can keep by your side, keep me a voice to keep you company, my sultan of sound. But," he raised his hands and peeled off the mask that wasn´t his. He blurred and the clothes changed, reverting back to his old costume, back to the blue cape, back to the stripes, back to those awful pants, back to the silly, impossible shoes, "please don´t. I don´t want to be like that, being the voice of a dead man, trapped in a place I could never escape from. Please let me go, Piper."  
Piper wept.  
"I don´t know how," he confessed.  
James smiled softly. "You´re a genius, you can figure it out."  
He offered the silver flute he was holding to Piper.  
"Play something for me?" he asked, "a last song for me. A requiem for the Trickster."  
"I don´t like requiems," Piper said. He wiped the tears from his eyes.  
There was something on his face that would have been a smile in normal circumstances.  
He started playing. James gave him one last grin as he recognized the melody of "Walking on Sunshine". He started humming along, then sang the chorus. His figure blurred, and the costume vanished. Before Piper stood Giovanni Giuseppe, clad in a ratty old t-shirt, blue jeans and still those shoes.  
"Rock on, Hartley!" he said. Then he was gone, Piper was alone.

He woke up in an alley in Gotham City. He couldn´t remember how he got here, only that he had been dreaming. James had been there, and he had gone away.

"Godspeed, my friend.".


	73. It's not funny, you know

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rogues are snowed in

"Mmmpmhhhgggmmm," said Mick and wrapped the blanket tighter around himself.  
He vaguely resembled a pupa - maybe at the end of winter he´d emerge as a butterfly. James laughed at his own and caught frosty (ha!) glares from his friends.  
"What?" James asked. That had been funny. It would have been even funnier if he had said it out loud.  
Digger just sighed. And when Captain Boomerang lacked the energy to insult you, then something was really wrong.

Of course it had to be Keystone City´s coldest winter of the century and of course today was the day the temperature reached new lows and of course that was when the heating went to hell.  
It was freezing inside the safehouse, and the ways out were blocked by ice, cold wind, snow, even more ice, and the promise of hypothermia and freezing to death was crisp and clear in the air. It was cold inside, but at least it was still warmer than outside.

Every Rogues was bundled up in as many layers of clothes they could wear at the moment. And, although they thought it impossible, they looked even more ridiculous in their mis-matched outfits of costume parts, casual clothes, anoraks, hats, scarves and in Digger´s case, a kilt.

James clutched the hot-water bottle tightly against his chest. He wanted Len to fix the heating system. He wanted Mick to stop hogging every blanket and possible source of heat he could find. He wanted hot cocoa with cinnamon cookies and he was cold and feeling miserable.  
The Rogues shared his wishes. (Except Mick who certainly did not want to stop hogging blankets).

They heard something metallic hitting the ground, a muffled groan of pain, then the sound of someone hitting something metallic and a yowl of pain. The curses that followed identified the person as Len. He stomped into the living room where the rest of the Rogues were seated.  
"It´s no use, I can´t fix it. Broken beyond repair."  
He sat down in his chair. (It didn´t matter where they were, there was always a chair that was his chair) "Guys, two options: we stay here and maybe freeze to death or we go outside and try to find someplace where we won´t freeze...and probably freeze to death on the way. Any bright ideas?"  
"Yes!" James piped up, "I could-"  
"Someone else?" Len asked and pinched the bridge of his nose. He liked James, he really did, but at some point he simply had enough of ridiculous plans that never worked, senseless babble and less than helpful commentary.  
James pouted. Apparently his plan to hyperaccelerate global warming wasn´t wanted. He hugged the bottle closer.  
He hated being cold. He hated being unappreciated. He hated being surrounded by cranky friends who snapped at each other.

"Mffffffmmmmggg," Mick said.  
"No, you won´t light this building on fire," Len said.  
"Mmt-"  
"No, you won´t light other buildings on fire."  
"Mffffk!"  
"Up yours!"

There was a sound upstairs, like someone had jumped onto the roof.  
"Santa?" James asked and ran up the stairs. Nevermind that it was only the 12th of december, nevermind that he was an adult - something on the roof in winter had to be Santa Claus! Someone pounded against the roof access door.  
"Let me in, damn it!"

It may not have been a bearded jolly old man in a red suit, but James was nevertheless pleased to see the man who had landed on their roof. And his weather wand.

Later, surrounded by warmth and light created by Mark´s localized weather phenomenon, the Rogues were together in their own private haven, their port in the storm. The crankiness had ceased, the snapping had stopped and they were content.

Until next morning, when they would discover that they were snowed in and Mick finally got to use his flamethrower after all.


	74. Anniversary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rogues anniversaries rule

It was a splendid party. After all, the occassion was a special one, the first anniversary of a new tradition. It was Hartley Rathaway´s first birthday. He spent the day not saying anything, not hearing anything and being stared at by a lot of people he didn´t know. To him, it was just an ordinary day, being shown off by his parents and then handed to the nanny as soon as the "witnesses" were gone. Young Hartley Rathaway decided that he didn´t like anniversaries very much.

It was the first anniversary of the best thing ever and Hartley was drunk. Drunker than he´d ever been. He was stupidly smiling, glass with some alcoholic substance in hand, the other hand around James´ back in order to avoid falling off the couch. He giggled and emptied his glass. James shot him a sharp, dazzling smile that people in his drunken state shouldn´t have. Later, Hartley woke up on a carpet he´d swore they hadn´t had yesterday. He opened his eyes, flinched as the light was way too bright and rolled away , burying his head in the soft, moving carpet.  
Wait, carpets didn´t move...  
Hartley´s hungover brain put two and two together and deduced that he had been sleeping on James´ chest. Rogues Anniversaries ruled!.


	75. Kitchen Disaster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Piper cannot cook. At all.

"Come on, it looks worse than it is, honestly."  
"Piper, this couldn´t be worse if the undead rose from their graves and had offspring with jellyfish and spiders!"  
"Whoa, where did that image come from?"  
"I fell asleep during a zombie marathon and in the morning there was a nature documentary on. I was also kinda hungover."  
"Poor baby"  
"Don´t you ´poor baby´ me, what the hell did you do to my kitchen?"  
"Our kitchen"  
"Not anymore, you´re not touching anything in here ever again."  
"Not even cereal?"  
"Not even cereal!"

Grumbling, James went to fetch the cleaning equipment. Piper sat down gingerly on the couch and watched the last minutes of a nature documentary of the Australian outback. He was never going to attempt to cook lobster ever again.


End file.
